


Mewling Quim

by AnnaKnimos



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drama, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:53:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 58,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24279151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaKnimos/pseuds/AnnaKnimos
Summary: It was the biggest case of your career, even if you were three months fresh out of patrol. With a crew of the best detectives in the state behind you, you were challenged at every turn. Especially by the masterthief, Loki. He was elusive, intelligent and had an odd affinity for the colour green. It was a game of cat and mouse...but which were you?
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Comments: 19
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

"That's it. This guy is the biggest douchebag in the entire universe."

Sam missed the glare Thor threw his way as he stopped in front of the east wall scanning the area.

"Thought that title was yours, Wilson." Bucky grinned smugly at Sam before the man flipped him off.

"That's enough you two. As much as we're entertained by your love spats, try to dial it back on account of the kid. It's only been three months and she's gonna need more time to warm up to you two." Tony directed his shaded eyes at you as you scribbled in your notepad. You've grown somewhat accustomed to the love/hate relationship between Barnes and Wilson. In the first week, you ignored it. But when Sam started roping you in on the ridiculous macho man contests they had from time to time, you always kept an ear open for your cue to move away from the pair.

"Well...green is definitely his colour." Steve studied the emerald calling card in between his thumb and index finger, left in it's current prominent position standing upright in an ironically cheap acrylic display case in the vault. The jester donning the ridiculous green get up in a ridiculous playful stance on the card taunted him. 

It was the 2nd one.

The first was found at City Bank, home to the savings and shares of thousands of residents in the area. It took them a while to realise half of the safety deposit boxes were completely empty. Thankfully, the burglars only plundered the cash, leaving behind the valuable items customers trusted with the renowned bank in their metal containers. They almost fired their security guard, a robust young gentleman, who they thought let the culprits slip by, assuming he fell asleep on the job. You remembered Natasha telling you how the young man nearly pissed himself when the manager confronted him. The tables turned though, he threatened to sue them when the security cameras proved he was indeed performing his duties. While the bank upheld a strong client privacy policy, and had no internal vault cameras, they did have an elaborate silent alarm system. But the burglars found an elaborate way of disabling it. The collapse in the system reported during the bank's after hours, allowing you to establish the time of the heist. The team speculated that's when all the break ins took place, but you couldn't be sure.

Now here you stood, analyzing the second card in Beacon Credit Union. After hearing about the bank robberies, they doubled security and installed cameras throughout their vault, but their efforts proved futile. Your mind was reeling with questions and possibilities as to how on earth he made it in and out of the vault without being seen by any employees or people visiting the bank that day. It was almost as if he had performed a great magic trick and appeared and disappeared into thin air. Maybe that's how he did it, the jester card certainly alluded to some trick or foolery. 

It was his signature move. The elusive Loki Laufeyson, who'd used the calling cards in petty thefts committed a decade ago when he was just a young man on the wrong track. You didn't care much for the slap in the face he left behind, it did lead you to the fact that he was the one committing the crimes, but you did care to know why he never left one at the first robbery, the one at Foster Finance.

It was a small bank, with few employees and a vault that held less than half the number of deposit boxes than the ones at the other two. Same M.O.: Cameras and alarms disabled, only cash taken. The trust fund baby and owner of the company, Francis Foster was only a little bothered about the whole ordeal. But when you had billions to your name and a wife 20 years your junior at your side, there wasn't much to complain about. Life was sweet. You couldn't say that much about yours right now though.

You thought back to when you were on patrol. Two years of splitting up fist fights, arresting people for public urination and spending an awful amount of time in that patrol car with Andrews your old partner, who took it upon himself to pass the time by seeing who could stuff the most french fries in their mouth. He was intense in the fun loving, grin splitting sort of way, but you missed him. You remember when Tony approached you at the academy and how you almost fainted. He usually recruited the best of the best and after looking at your high test and field scores, he knew you were promising talent. So after completing the minimum years required of being a beat cop, Tony promoted you to detective right away.

The first month was for the most part boring. Petty theft, tax fraud, vandalism. Of course there was the occasional murder, which was always hard on everyone. You put your bones into every case and more often than not, you got your man. But if you were being honest, there was nothing that enticed you, that picked your brain and drove you to the edge of your seat. You would secretly hope for a case that would draw you in with the thrill of a chase. Natasha teased you about it to no end when you finally gave in and spilled on why you looked more disappointed than usual. " _You're bored already huh? You know Tony said you were good, but I didn't know you were this good. I guess brilliance breeds boredom_." She'd said.

You felt awful for thinking about it. Who in their right mind would wish for a crime to happen? But two weeks on the job and you got what you wanted. You should really be careful what you wish for.

Three banks robbed. One each month. Calling cards left only at the last two. The missing details had you stumped, bringing with them a splitting headache that seemed to grow everytime you looked at the notes you'd taken in your small pad.

"Hey. Take it easy. We're in this together, ok? We'll get this guy." Tony patted your shoulder as he rounded the vault a third time. For as long as you could remember, whenever there was a problem, you _had_ to fix it. Every puzzle needed to be solved, every question needed to be answered. Whenever you thought you were taking too long to figure something out, you got upset. A little too upset, leading to a ruined punching bag in the gym and a busted up cutout at target practice. 

Tony had a long talk with you on your little habit your second month on the job. While he thought you were an asset to the team, he reminded you that there was no room for the level of self scrutiny you allowed yourself.

" _You're part of a team now, Y/l/n_ ," he had reminded you. 

And he was right. There were five other detectives involved. You needed to work together. You couldn't be self centered, not when there was maniac robbing a bank every month. Each one unpredictable. It was the biggest case of your budding career, the one you were hoping for...the one that extinguished your boredom, but increased your frustration.

Thankfully, you were less of an a*shole than you were the first month. 

You had your coworkers to thank, though. You may have been wary of them in the beginning. Keeping a watchful eye and a cautious hand everytime you engaged with them, not used to being part of a team. But bit by bit they managed to chip away at some of the walls you had built around yourself over the years.

Sam, coaxed you into his jokes and high spirits when you were on the verge of pulling your hair out at your desk. Coffee refilled and donut half eaten. 

Steve, the Sergeant, was known for his heart to hearts in the break room over tea and his homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. 

Thor helped you ease your frustration on the mat, refusing to take it easy on you when you fought against him in defense training. 

Nat convinced you to get coffee with her a couple times at her go to 24 hour cafe when the days were long and morale was low. 

And Bucky, well Bucky was still on the fence. While he tried to engage in polite conversation with you from time to time, he was still distant, unlike the others. When you stepped foot in the precinct, he was cold to say the least. Steve tried his best to explain the situation to you in some detail, and what you gathered was that Bucky and his former partner, Det.Williams, found themselves in the middle of a violent shootout with a notorious drug ring, leaving Williams dead and a ruptured vessel in Bucky's left arm from a stray bullet. One amputation and funeral later, he was back at work and different from the fun loving ladies man they once knew.

He had every right to harbour some feelings of contempt for you. You were replacing his partner after all. You didn't need his approval, but you needed him to know that you had his back like everyone else's. But trust was a precious thing, and it wasn't given so easily. 

Everyone had secrets, everyone had pain. And your walls weren't the only ones fractured during the night shifts. 

You learned that Bucky wasn't the only one to lose a partner. Back when Sam was a beat cop, he was on the job with his friend Riley, dunking bear claws in lukewarm coffee in their squad car, laughing over some stupid joke about the captain. Until they responded to a domestic violence call. Sam was the only uniform to come out of the shoddy apartment alive. Riley beaten so badly, face bloody and unrecognisable after he tried to pull the deadbeat husband off his screaming wife. He spent 5 months in a coma, till his wife, tearful and broken in Sam's arms, decided to pull the plug when the doctor delivered the news that Riley was lost either way. You remembered bursting into tears on the drive home, reliving every detail of Sam's story over and over in your head. And it wasn't the last time you would cry over one of your coworker's stories. 

Nat was an orphan left to rot in the system since she was 5. She spent more time on the streets sifting through old food wrappers and newspapers in trash cans, hoping to find a half eaten burger or a few fries, than she did in a warm and cozy bed, like now. But despite the security of a mattress and a door separating her from the darkness of the world, she still had nightmares. Nothing would remove the vivid memory of her 3rd foster dad creeping into her room when she was 16. Slinking his rough hands over her stomach and gnawing at her neck. It was the first time she threw a punch, and while it hurt like hell it got the bastard off of her. She ran until her feet hurt. But she found trouble again in a group of runaways in the city. They broke shop windows and stole more things than she could remember, but they kept her warm and fed for 3 years. That was before a few of them got arrested. She was curled up next to a dumpster in an alley when she met Clint, her now husband. He was pre-law at the city college and happened to get a strong hankering for a cup of joe. She remembered his soft smile when he handed her the warm coffee and placed his jacket over her shoulders.

" _The rest is history."_ She had whispered when she took you to that same coffeplace after you fell asleep at your desk over a pile of case files you were obsessed with finishing.

The tea drinker however, Steve, was a former army man. Leaving his childhood sweetheart with a promise ring on a golden chain around her neck and his long time pal Bucky with a pat on the back when he left to be a ranger after months of hard work. He was excited. It was a welcome change in his life. He was following in his late father's footsteps, a man who prided himself on honour and patriotism. Steve was always in awe of the man his father was and he spent his entire life trying to be worthy of honouring his memory. He thought he'd find it on the battlefield, amidst the bravery in sacrifice as rival bullets buzzed past his head and the boom of explosives shattered his ear drum.

But when the dust settled and his sight cleared, the bloodied corpses of his fellow men had destroyed the illusion that once painted his mind. His letters to Peggy were suddenly soiled with the scars of his damaged spirit. When he was finally honorably discharged, he held onto her and didn't let go. She wouldn't let go of him either. Not when he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, or when tears would spill from his eyes when he expressed his feelings of inadequacy. Then Bucky came to see him, delighted that his friend was finally back for good. He told him he'd found his calling, being on the force, how he was making a difference, helping people. Steve thought about it for days, till he took the leap and got one of those blue uniforms himself. For the first time in years, he was okay. 

There was one person on the team you were sure wasn't okay though, and that was Thor. How could he when he was part of the group of detectives working tirelessly to put his brother behind bars. The two were estranged. You didn't know the whole story but you weren't about to ask. There was a certain look in Thor's eyes you couldn't place, but it made you steer clear of him, even if he was friendly and an all round good guy. Almost too good to be true at times. You remember the first time you saw it, that look, when Captain Stark expressed his concerns for Thor being "too close" to the case, after figuring out that his brother, Loki, was involved. You almost missed it, but that look that appeared in his eyes raised the pores that lined your skin as a sudden and cold chill ran throughout your body.Thor reminded Tony of the amount of trouble his brother caused him in his life. He wanted to catch him just as much as the rest of us. He was a good detective and the extra manpower was needed, so Tony decided to leave it be. But you'd never forget that look, not for a long time. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts when Tony shouted in the enclosed space, his voice coming off the walls.

"Alright everyone, we got our evidence and we're out in ten." 

You stilled. There was an echo. A slight echo in the room that carried Tony's back, resonating from below. There wasn't supposed to be an echo. The entire room was lined with a high quality sound dampener that muffled any sound and absorbed echoes for improved security for the clients. You had done heavy research on the building's blueprints and had an off the clock meeting with their most recent contractor. An echo was impossible.  
  
There had to be some damage to the integrity of the material, but was it just a coincidence? Maybe it happened before the bank was robbed, you made a mental note to question the manager. You had to be sure. 

You eyes scanned the lines of grout, searching for some imperfection, hoping it would jump out at you. 

Thor kept his eyes on you, wary of the way your eyes were focused. You were too much in your head again.

"Y/n, you alright?" You turned to see his large hand on your shoulder.

"Yeah, I am. I just have a bit of a headache." You held your temple and gave him a faint smile.

He rocked on his heels and nodded, scratching his beard.

"You wanna get a beer with me?" It was unexpected. A beer? With golden boy? You made a promise to yourself to be more outgoing with your team, especially when Loki came in to play. Tony had suggested it, and while you were making progress, for some reason his invitation seemed so outlandish to you. But you accepted anyway.

"Great. See you back at the precinct then."

"Hey kid, let's go. Paperwork's calling our name." Tony's head popped back in the room and you nodded.

"You know I have an actual name right? And it's not kid?" You teased.

"Well as soon as you tell me what it is, I'll be sure to use it." 


	2. Chapter 2

Soft rock danced through the air in the small, dimly lit bar. A few patrons dotted the circular tables on the wood panelled floor. The bartender's seedy blue eyes stirred anxiety within your stomach, but his inviting smile and warm demeanor drew you in when Thor motioned to one of the stools at the bar. You plopped down and pulled off your jacket, feeling a bit stuffy after a long day at work. Thor waved over the bartender and looked at you questioningly.

"I came here for a beer, I'm havin' a beer." You rolled your shoulders for some relief when Thor placed the order.

"Two beers, Selvig." The older man gave a thumbs up and placed two bottles in front of you. The condensation dripping onto the polished wood, pooling at the base. He pulled off the corks and you thanked him as you looked around. 

"Come here often?" You took a sip and leaned back.

"Let's just say, this place is like my second home." Thor scratched his beard and tapped his fingers on the bar.

You nodded and your eyes fell on what looked like a medieval hammer hanging in a glass case on the left wall. You picked up your beer and crossed your arms. Pointing to the odd object, you inquired its purpose. 

"What's that?"

"I have a confession. There's something you must know about me, Y/n. I'm a man of _great_ treasure." 

You chortled, almost spitting the liquid in your mouth all over him.

"Treasure?" 

"Well of course, I won that hammer fair and square. It's one of my most prized possessions."

"Oh? And just how did you come across such a..." your eyes fell on it again and you bit the inside of your lip, "cool hammer-thingy?"

He chucked, "It's more than just a cool hammer-thingy. It was the insignia of my rival fraternity back in college. They bet my friends and I that we couldn't finish the Viking Platter in half an hour. A chunk of roasted pork about the size of my head on a bed of potatoes and vegetables. They used to serve it in this bar until well..someone choked on a bone and died..but long story short I won and as bets go, they had to give it up. I felt like a god that day."

Your unwavering stare made him shift in his seat. All you could think was how ridiculous it sounded. You knew Thor was more than just a beefcake with a badge and a gun but the image of him shoving pork and potatoes down his throat all in the name of whatever frat he was in didn't help to erase the stereotype you held over his head the first day you met.

"I guess it's not as impressive as I thought." His voice was above a mumble, and his eyes were cast on his now half-empty beer bottle.

"No it is! Finishing a meal that big in that short space of time. Amazing!" You winced at the phony amazement seeping through your words and you closed your eyes in surrender. 

"No need to polish my ego. I usually leave that to the girls I _actually_ win over with that story." 

"I'm sorry I just-" 

"No it's fine. I'm no stranger to indifference over my feats. I grew up with a brother who thought he was above everyone. I don't think he ever realised he was a mere mortal himself." A bittersweet laugh cut through the air. 

You didn't say anything. Loki was a sore topic. You never brought him up outside of work-related conversations, fearing the reaction it would create. But you were itching to find out what happened between the brothers.

"Go ahead." He shrugged his shoulders and sipped his beer, finishing the bottle and ordering another.

You furrowed your brows.

"You can ask me anything, Y/n. I don't mind."

On the inside, you jumped for joy when he gave you a pass to ask him about his brother. You had numerous questions, but you reminded yourself that this wasn't an interrogation. 

"What happened between the two of you?" Simple, straightforward and could lead to more discussion.

"It's a long story but, he had this _insane_ idea that our parents favoured me over him. When he found out he was adopted...well that sent him over the edge. He would stay out late -sometimes all night-, he vandalized the school with his ridiculous clown symbol -managed to get away with it by the way-, he stole from my father's liquor cabinet and blamed it on me and he made friends...really bad ones. He just...he loved seeing my father's blood boil. My mother would beg him to stop the lies, the mischief but he wouldn't hear it.

"One thing he managed to do right though was keep his grades up. But of course he used that to get away from us. As soon as he turned 18 and graduated, he got a job out of state and left with his fellow deviants. I'd never seen my mother cry so much...my father well, he didn't care much. I, on the other hand...I missed him. We were once thick as thieves him and I. When we were younger we would pretend to be kings, ordering our mother to bring us milk and cookies and make paper crowns...better times."

You sipped your second beer as he continued his story, blue eyes cast down and fingers drawing patterns in the condensation on the amber bottle.

"When mother died, the coward didn't even join the procession. He just stood by a tree in the cemetery. And for father's funeral well he didn't bother to show up. I lost my parents, and my brother."

You cautiously placed a hand on his forearm, "I'm really sorry...about everything."

"It's not your fault. People grow apart."

"I hear that...I haven't spoken to my dad in years. I worry about him sometimes though...do you ever worry about Loki."

You removed your hand from Thor's thick muscle and nestled your chin in your palm. 

"Oh there's no need. I'm sure he's doing well for himself. Until you catch him of course."

You waved him off, "Me? It'll be a team effort, Thor."

"That it may be but you're quite the detective. I'm surprised you haven't figured out how he robbed the banks in the first place."

"Ugh don't remind me. I have no clue...I mean, I have a theory but-"

"Really? What are you thinking?" Thor's eyes brightened. His eagerness evident.

"Well, when I was in-"

"Thor! What are _you_ doing here at this ungodly hour?" A guttural voice boomed through the bar, ushering in a crowd of about 5 men. Tall, strange and dangerous-looking men. Your hand subconsciously fell on your gun concealed in your shirt. 

Thor closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before turning to the group, who were now approaching the two of you, stopping right behind your bar stools.

"We were just leaving." He turned to you and nodded to your jacket, indicating it was time to go.

You decided that you would ask questions later, leaving immediately seemed like the best option. 

"What's the rush? We just got here!" The man put a large hand on Thor's shoulder and grinned. Scars littered his cheeks, but his bald scalp drew your attention as it shone under the bar lights, much like his teeth. 

"Well some of us have work in the morning so-" Thor stood up but the man playfully shoved him back into the stool. 

"Don't be rude, Thor. Introduce me to your friend." 

The skinny one in the group, the one that looked like Voldemort's long lost cousin, rested his elbow on the bar top to your left and you turned your stool to face Thor and by extension, the unknown man.

"Thanos, this is Y/n. Y/n, Thanos." You wanted to roll your eyes. Thor, Loki, Thanos? You started to wonder if you were in some theatrical universe with all the strange names you kept hearing. 

"Wait a minute... _Y/n?_ As in _Y/n Y/l/n_?" 

That made your ears perk up. How did he know who you were?

"Recent hire on Tony's team. The one to watch...Might I say, I'm a huge fan. You solved what...17 cases your first week?"

"They pretty much solved themselves. It's not a big deal really."

"Not a big deal?" Thanos doubled over and started laughing, holding his stomach in a hysterical fit of giggles. 

"Are you kidding me? You're the best detective on the force. I bet you're gonna be the one to catch Loki. We used to work together you know. Strictly legal ventures of course."

Thor clenched his jaw.

"I bet. Well it's always nice to meet an admirer but I really should be going now." As you said it, Thanos' lackeys crossed their arms as if waiting for orders.

You stood up and put on your jacket, leaving a couple bills under your bottle. 

"Ready?" You looked at Thor expectantly and fixed the collar of your jacket.

"Yeah. Let's go." He left his money just as you did and stood up.

You stared at the large man blocking your way. He looked like a frail more sickly version of Thanos, tilting his head and daring you to pass.

"Corvus, that's enough." Thanos ordered.

His demeanor then changed from serious to playful. "Well, it was nice seeing you both. Say hi to Loki for me." There was that laughter again. 

The groupies parted and you walked straight past them, Thor keeping close behind you. 

Before you could exit, Thanos called out. 

"Oh and Thor? Think twice before bringing a lovely girl such as Y/n to a place like this. It's not safe for the likes of her."

Thor nodded and smiled tightly before ushering you outside.

You weren't about to let the short walk to your cars pass in silence.

"Who the hell was that guy? How does he know you and why in hell is he a _fan_ of mine?" You put air quotes around the word fan as your confusion and curiosity stretched.

Thor stopped walking and held his nose bridge.

"He's an old childhood friend of Loki's. I didn't expect to see him tonight or I wouldn't have brought you here. As for being a fan of yours, he keeps tabs on what goes on in the precinct. You know how they say 'Know thy enemy'? Well that's kinda like his motto."

"I'm guessing that finding out all the information you can on the people that catch bad guys for a living has something to do with criminal activity."

Thor looked at you pointedly as if to say "Duh!"

When you reached your car, you turned back to Thor.

"Anyway...thanks for the drink. It was...interesting."

"I'll do better next time." 

"Next time?" Your heart jumped unexpectedly and you wiled yourself to ignore it.

"If you want to of course. I promise not to take you to a bar or show you my hammer."

You giggled at his unintentional innuendo. He caught on and shook his head.

"Forgive me I'm usually better at this." 

"Don't worry about it. I'll take you up on that."

"Good."

"Good."

You unlocked the door and got in, turning the key in the ignition. After buckling, you turned to him.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing your hammer next time. It's a looker." You winked and drove off. Thor chuckled and got in his own car.

"Mission accomplished." He smiled to himself and started the engine. 


	3. Chapter 3

You tapped your pen against your thigh incessantly as you waited for the manager of Beacon Credit Union, Mr.Dawson, to join you in his goady purple office. You shifted in the stuffy chair, the leather squeaking as you tried to find a comfortable position to sit. You checked your watch for the third time, 7:32. He needed to get here quick or you'd be late for work. You thought being a detective on the case that his bank was heavily involved in would warrant you all the time you wanted with the man. But when his assistant cut you off on the phone after you painstakingly tried to schedule a meeting with him, she'd snapped that "Mr. Dawson doesn't speak to subordinates" in her nasal and painfully whiny voice.

After trying for half a week, you'd finally decided to "bump" into him at the coffee shop he would frequent. Thankfully, he wasn't as difficult as his assistant and had politely agreed to speak with you within the small window of time he was available. Which unfortunately for you had to be on a work day, at a half hour before you needed to clock in, just when the Captain and Sergeant started buckling down on precinct punctuality and overtime after getting nowhere in 3 months on the case of the decade.

You chanced a look at your watch again, 7:35. If you didn't leave his office in 10 minutes, you would probably be in for a lecture from the boss.

"Ms.Y/l/n, I am so sorry for being late. There was a problem in one of our bathrooms. You'd think that college interns would know that coming to work hungover is bad for business but of course they would have no qualms when it comes to-"

"Mr.Dawson, I'm sorry but I'm in a bit of a rush I have to get to the precinct before 8."

"Oh, right. I've been working with such unprofessional youth these days sometimes I forget you're not all the same."

His rousing laughter was met with an unimpressed stare before he cleared his throat and motioned for you to go on.

"I had a few questions about the vault construction. Has there ever been any issue with the integrity of the material used?"

"Oh, of course not. We paid top dollar for the sound proofing. Every inch of the room is covered by it. We've never had a problem and if we did, we'd deal with it right away."

"So then any reflection of sound would be impossible in the vault right?"

"Oh certainly not. The safety boxes are metal and they could easily cause echoes-"

"But they were constructed with _perforated_ metal and lined with the same polyester fiber acoustic panels just like the floor and walls."

"Oh, that's right. We had them reconstructed last year. But how did you know-"

"So you agree. An echo is impossible."

"Well in that case then uh...yes."

You checked your watch. You had five minutes. You could do five minutes.

"I think you and I should take a little walk to the vault."

\---

"Did you hear it?"

Mr.Dawson furrowed his graying eyebrows and straightened his tacky striped tie.

You rolled your eyes and shouted again, "Do you hear it now?"

Just like before, it was barely there but it was unmistakable. There was an echo and it generated from below. 

Mr.Dawson's eyes grew wide with each second. 

"Why, yes I...I heard it."

"Some part of the ground framework has been compromised, Mr.Dawson."

"I-I just don't understand how this could have happened...first the robbery now this I-"

"I think they might be connected."

The older man loosened his tie and patted at the beds of sweat emerging from his forehead.

"I'm in charge...I'm supposed to keep watch I-"

You sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder gently. Meeting his eyes with a reassuring look.

"It's not your fault."

"But it happened in _my_ bank under _my_ watch."

"Listen to me. Sometimes sh*t happens. But we deal with it. There are things that are out of our control but when they come at us, we have to push through and move on. Look at it this way, now you have the chance to make sure that no one ever breaks in again." You were all too familiar with life not going how you thought it would. But all that is in the past, and that's where it's going to stay. 

"Thank you, Detective. I...I'll be sure to organize with our contractor-"

"Do you mind holding off on that?"

"Why?"

"If I'm going to figure out how they did this, I need to figure out why. It's all muddled in my head right now but I have an idea. I'll come back on Saturday with an answer. I promise. Just don't tell anyone about this ok? We don't need this getting out. If he finds out that we know how he runs his operation, it might ruin any chance we have of catching him."

You looked at your watch, 7:44. So much for being punctual.

Mr.Dawson was still sweating profusely, fanning his face to no avail but slowly taking in your words.

"We keep this to ourselves, ok?"

"Alright, Ms.Y/l/n. I'll give you until Saturday."

"Thank you. See you in 3 days." You smiled at him before exiting the vault, ready to weave through the city streets to get to the precinct.

* * *

" _Someone_ just ruined her early streak." Sam teased, sipping his coffee and looking at you cheekily.

" _Someone_ just drank out of Bucky's mug." You smirked when he pulled the cup away from his lips and raised it above his head, eyes widening when he noticed the brunette's initials scrawled in black ink. He rushed to the kitchen, hastily put the mug in the sink and ran to the bathroom. 

"Huh? My mug's right here?" Bucky raised the blue porcelain police mug at you and you laughed.

"You'd be surprised what one can do with a little white out and a black marker. I figured Sam could use a little payback for handcuffing me to my chair last week."

Bucky chuckled lowly, "Well, I won't argue with that...But why _were_ you late today?"

You furrowed your brows, why was he interested in your tardiness?

"I overslept. Watched one too many episodes of Hannibal last night."

Although you thought of yourself as an ok liar, you couldn't tell if Bucky believed a word of what you said. You wanted to keep your theory underwraps for now, just until you were sure. You needed some sort of proof before you presented it to the team, otherwise you would be wasting their time. And time was borrowed as it was.

"I started that one last week. I'm on the last season, what about you?"

Bucky Barnes partaking in the Netflix binge? 

"Season 2. So don't spoilt it for me or I'll shoot you." You chuckled and sipped your forgotten Chai tea as he shook his head laughing. 

Your short escape down the warm trails of a heavenly spiced wake up call was interrupted by none other than Sergeant Rogers.

"Y/n. You're finally here. You almost miss the briefing."

"Key word. _Almost."_ You lifted yourself off the chair and walked over to the briefing room, slowly followed by the other detectives. You sat in your usual spot at the back joined by Natasha, sipping your tea and licking your lips free of the warm residue. Sam finally marched in, glaring at you playfully before taking a seat at the front. Steve cleared his throat and took his usual stance, both hands gripping the front edge of the podium, weight shifted to his right leg.

But one person was missing, Thor. You hadn't noticed till now that the large man wasn't in the precinct and you wondered about his absence. You turned to Nat and nudged her arm.

"Hey, where's Thor?"

"Had an appointment. Something about his father's estate."

You took a sip of your tea and remembered his words at the bar. Having no family left in the world was certainly no picnic. You could only hope that whatever he had to deal with wouldn't take too much of a toll on him. 

"Okay everyone. We're three and a half months in on the Loki Larceny case-" Steve had started before snickers erupted throughout the room.

Steve clenched his jaw.

"Something funny?"

"You're real proud of that one aren't you? Used alliteration and everything." Sam jeered.

"Can I continue?"

Steve's stern tone silenced any hint of amusement. Usually he would join in and laugh at himself, poking fun at the ridiculous names he gave cases. But the wrinkle in his brow and flare in his nostril showed he meant business, and there was no more room for jokes. 

"So far, he's robbed a bank every month. Date and place unpredictable, but we have a jump on time."

Steve walked around the podium and passed Sam a stack of folders, motioning for him to pass them along. On opening yours, you looked over the photos of the crime scenes and the little evidence the team had obtained like the calling card Loki had left behind. You scanned the length of the emerald and ivory object, noting the intricate black lines along its border. Loki's choice to reveal himself with it one more unanswered question. 

"We know that they disabled the cameras after closing between the hours of 10 pm and 3 am. There are hundreds of banks left in the city that haven't been targeted. We need to find out how he's choosing the location. We have no idea when the next robbery will take place and we're already two weeks into the month. As you can see, pictures were taken from every angle of all the three vaults, and the calling card was catalogued as well. We need to scour every inch of these photos to find something, anything that can help us predict his next hit. Okay, dismissed."

Steve unceremoniously shut his folder and left the room, rubbing his chin. 

Nat turned to you and sighed, "Don't worry about him. He gets like this when a case is getting cold. He'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me I've worked with the guy for years. Whenever he feels like justice isn't being done he goes into autopilot mode. All work, no play."

"Well I guess we better figure this thing out...and fast." You felt a bit guilty for keeping your ideas to yourself, but you were sure that once you confirmed your suspicions, Steve would be better off knowing you had evidence to back up your claims. So you would wait until there was no doubt.

\------

Your mind was a boiling soup of crime scene photos, new cases and your forgotten lunch. Thankfully, the day was over and you could go home take a nice shower, indulge in leftover pizza and cookies, then make your way to the City Library where you would go through the blueprints of the city, along with the copies you attained from the bank's contractor to figure out why the hell there was an echo in that bunker.


	4. Chapter 4

"Thanks, Irene." You accepted the stack of files the librarian handed to you, along with the complimentary cup of coffee she would usually bring you, as you were somewhat of a regular. Sighing, you ensured that the files were organized correctly by date and leaned back in your chair. You had every record of the planned layouts of infrastructure and development of the city dating back a decade. It was just your luck that the library system was down and you couldn't access any of the files on the computer and simply print out the relevant information, but it was better having everything in front of you where you could study the entire layout. You checked your watch. 

7:02

If you hadn't agreed to stay overtime like Steve asked, rather demanded, you would have gotten to the library earlier, but you knew that Steve appreciated how hard everyone worked, even if he was still pissed at the world and himself for not catching that son of a b*tch Loki yet. You looked around the quieter than usual library. Thankfully there weren't many people. Guy to your left with a novel, couple to your right trying to make out not-so-discreetly between the bookshelves and a small group of what looked like students to your front, tugging on their hair and gritting their teeth. The new assistant librarian, Greg, was photocopying a few pages of a text book for the one of the girls of the group, ignoring her flirting as she tried to get out of paying for the copies.. You were in for a long night, and you only hoped that you wouldn't be bombarded with any unwanted distractions. 

You opened the slightly stained mustard folder in front of you. On the first sheet, in clear lines of various colours, thickness and patterns was the current layout of the city. Your eyes instantly landed on the street you took to work, acting as a central point for you to easily trace other known locations on the map. You ran your finger along the lines that represented the roads, easily pinpointing the locations of your apartment building and most importantly the first bank, City Bank. Your hand reached for your marker and just as you were about to circle the area, you remembered the file belonged to the library. 

Looks like you would be out a few dollars tonight.

-  
Greg collected the last copy from the machine and handed it over. It was still warm and you stopped yourself from clinging to the sheet, if only to jolt yourself out of the oncoming exhaustion. Cup of coffee already drained of every drop. 

You handed him a couple bills as you thanked him.

You stapled the respective files for each year and stacked them before returning to your seat. You continued your pattern, circling the locations of the 3 banks, and making a note of changes in the road pathways, and construction sites, but you couldn't exactly do anything with that information. You only had one bank blueprint at home splayed out on your wall lined with red marker ink and thumb tacks and you would need the same for the other two inclusive of whatever construction changes were made recently. 

You had already spent an hour peeling through the compilations for each year which included three main maps: General Reference showing the roads and various lakes, parks and other infrastructure, a Thematic map showing the population and the Water and Drainage map showing the sewer and drainage system throughout the city. You were almost halfway done and you needed the other information if you really wanted to find any connection between the banks, and pattern out exactly how Loki was choosing his next hit.

All you knew, was that it had to be location. It was the only obvious answer. He made the hits seem random, and at first you believed they were as the banks had nothing in common except for the fact that they held precious items and fat stacks of cash, but if you learned anything from his previous crimes, he was calculating and meticulous and there was definitely a method to the madness. But from what you had, there was no evident connection in the distance between the three areas after checking the General Reference maps. You figured the other two maps didn't have much use as there was no correlation between population and the robberies and the drainage systems, while impossible to use as a transport system anyway, did not connect the banks at a subterranean level.

So far, you had nothing.

On the 9th file, your eyelids were starting to droop, but you pressed on circling and tracing and skimming through the maps. But then something happened that gave you the jolt you so desperately needed. On the 2011 compilation...one of the maps was missing. You turned the pages for the year before rapidly, edging on tearing the pages in half...but that same map was missing too. Why would the Water and Drainage maps be missing from two years of city files? You shot out of your seat and hurried up to the desk, pulling Irene's attention away from her game of solitaire.

"Hey Irene..."

She looked up at you through her pointed glasses, pushing them up on her long nose bridge before raising her eyebrows.

"The Drainage and Water system maps are missing for a couple years..."

"Missing? Oh, that was the year they started reconstruction of the sewers. They left out the outdated plans because they just shut down those areas-"

"Wait...reconstruction?"

"Yeah, they did a whole new thing. I don't know much about it, but I do know it definitely wasn't safe for the environment. I actually joined one of the protests when they first announced the new system. Let me tell ya I had no idea there would be so many guys there- hot ones too. This one fella Richard, he and I broke into a car and we-"

"Okayyy I don't think I need a description of that," nervous laughter followed your objection and Irene joined you apologising for her candor. 

"Are there _any_ files at all on the old sewer system?"

"Hmm...no sorry sweetie. You'd have to check Sewage and Sanitation for that. But...hold on."

She pushed her chair back and disappeared to the small room behind her desk. You took the few minutes she was gone to look around the library. You were so engrossed in files that you hadn't noticed that most of the people were gone. Stressed students no longer on the edge of their seats, and the horny couple no longer eating each other's faces. Only one guy remained. The same guy that was reading the novel earlier. As you padded your thumb on the counter, a strange feeling of déjà vu washed over you as he seemed vaguely familiar. But the collar of his coat was pulled up around his neck, and his seating position and the manner in which he held the book hid his face.

You furrowed your brows and bit your lip at the nagging feeling of familiarity, until Irene returned.

"Old newspaper clipping. Only thing we've got on it."

She handed over a stained, pale yellow piece of paper, torn at the edges protected by laminating sheets and a plastic covering.

As you read through the article, the gears in your mind seemed to shift and transform, finally moving to function. 

"First centralized sewer system...1987. This new system utilises combined sewage pipes that collect both stormwater and sewage..."

"Can you believe all that crap ended up in the river? Well, that's what happens when more and more people start moving to the city."

"Can I copy this?"

"Oh I'm afraid you can't with that one. I can't even take it out of the plastic."

You frowned and bit your lip. No copy, no download because system was down. But then the object in your back pocket that you had been pulling out at different intervals to monitor just how much time you spent in the library buzzed against your backside, making you jump in surprise and causing Irene to question if you were alright.

You pulled out your phone. It was Thor.

It was almost half 9, and while some part of you were excited at the blonde's call you were slightly annoyed by the timing. The library would be closed soon and you had to get home. You ignored it deciding to call him back later, but as you swiped across your screen the lightbulb in your head lit up.

"Can I take a picture?"

Irene frowned in thought before nodding, "Well there aren't any rules against that so guess you can, sweetie."

"You snapped a quick photo of the article and gave it back to her. 

"Thank you so much, Irene...really."

"No problem, honey. Need anything else?"

"No, I'm good. I think I'll head home." 

"Hopefully he'll decide to leave too, I'd like to lock up early."

You looked over to the man, who was glued to the novel

"Maybe you can blast the AC to freeze him out."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Irene joked.

"But Goody-two shoes Greg over there is a sticker for the rules." You looked over to the young man, who was diligently double checking the inventory. You couldn't blame the guy. Here you were, off the clock and still working. Maybe it was crazy, obsessive but you needed to get the job done. He was doing the same.

You thanked her again before collecting your purse and setting the copies safely in your binder. 

You walked out into the parking lot, deciding to call Thor back. When you entered your car, he answered.

"Hey, you."

His husky tone ran smooth through your ear and you smiled.

"Hey, sorry I missed your call I was busy."

"Busy? What exactly do you get up to this time of night, Y/n?"

You laughed at his playful tone.

"Can't a girl have secrets?"

"Can't a guy have questions?"

"He can, but it doesn't mean he'll get answers."

"I'll get them eventually. I have my ways." 

"Oh you do?"

"I can be _very_ persuasive."

"Says the guy who just had his call ignored."

"Save it, you know you want me."

"Even if that's true, you'll never know and that's enough for me."

"And that's all the information I need, darling."

You rolled you eyes, unlocking your car and getting in, "Why'd you call, anyway?"

"Oh, right. I found something in the crime scene photos."

"Steve had you on those? Even though you took a personal day?"

"I actually stopped by the precinct tonight and got them. Thought I could put in some work. I know he had you guys peeling through them all day."

"Well what did you find?"

"There was an irregularity in one of the ceiling panels. It was barely noticeable but the angle was off."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I got so excited I knew I had to tell someone and I thought of you."

You blushed.

"Oh...well um.. wanna meet tomorrow and talk?" You were supposed to use your weekend to follow up on those blueprints and get those files from Sewage and Sanitation, but you figured one quick meeting with Thor couldn't hurt. Especially when it could mean a lead.

"My place at 11:00? We could have lunch, I'm a great cook."

"Yeah because those Turkey sandwiches you bring everyday are evidence of that."

"Hey, those sandwiches have more flavour profile than you think."

"Well I guess tomorrow I'll be the judge of that. Goodnight, Thor."

"Goodnight, Y/n."

As you put the phone down, you looked over to the files. Pretty soon, Steve would be smiling.

You drove out of the lot and started on your way home.

Just as you turned the corner, the stranger from the library watched your car as it drove away. He closed the book he was "reading" and walked up to the counter, steering clear of Irene and instead drawing the attention of Greg, who had finally decided to sit down and wait out the little time left that the library would stay open.

"Hey, I was reading over there but I couldn't help overhear...the woman that just left she wanted some kind of file?"

"Uhhh yeah." 

"So you guys keep records here? On what exactly? Because my kid has this project comin' up and I was just going to use reading material, encyclopedias you know that kinda stuff, but if I can get some other sources that would be great."

"Well what kind of information were you looking for?"

"I don't really know how to put it...what uh...what files did she ask for? Maybe I'm looking for the same thing."

"She wanted information on the city infrastructure and development. Is that what you need?"

"Well, the project does call for a scale model on a city landmark...what kind of information is in those files though?"

"It's mostly maps of the city, you know the general layout, population trends, drainage that kinda thing."

"Guess I'll have to try somewhere else then. Thanks, anyway."

Greg nodded and the man walked out of the library, pulling out his phone and dialling a number. When the other line was connected, he spoke.

"Hey...you were right. She was here." 


	5. Chapter 5

"Ok, maybe your Turkey sandwiches are better than I thought." You admitted, rubbing your stuffed stomach through your shirt as the lingering taste of lemon and pepper tingled on your tastebuds. If you weren't trying to maintain your composure in front of Thor who was smirking coolly opposite you, you would have licked the plate clean. Instead, you offered to help him clean up when he stood and grabbed your plates. 

As you followed him to the kitchen, your eyes caught on the framed photos lining the smooth wooden shelf on the living room wall. Curiosity taking over you, you placed the dirty glasses and cutlery in the sink and walked over to the printed smiling faces. 

Thor's hair was shorter, and the beard he was currently sporting was absent from his fresh face. There was the unmistakeable teenage joy in his eyes, when life was all girls and video games and you thought it was the end of the world if you got a bad grade on a test. He was sitting on a porch swing, arm snug around a boy with ebony locks framing his pale face. His blue eyes seemed to be in mid-roll, but his lips, slightly curved at the edges betrayed the annoyance in his orbs. The stark contrast between the two threw you in for a loop.

It was him. Loki. Up until now, you had no solidified image of what the mastermind looked like. You had skipped through the sole mugshot in his file, focusing more on the information on the petty theft he pulled. 

You hadn't thought about the face that went along with the name, he was simply the object of your loathing. More of an enigma, a concept, a symbol for all that was wrong with the world, and when you caught him some balance would be restored to the city you now called home. But the handsome pale-faced boy in front of you, fighting the oncoming smile on his lips was...well just a boy. And Loki was just a man. He had hopes and dreams and fears and weaknesses, he was human, not some elusive force that loomed over you with inimitable power. Here was a man with an Achilles heel waiting to be found. And you would find it. 

"Y/n? You ok?" Thor called from the kitchen, his voice muffled by the sound of running water.

"Yeah, I'm coming." You turned on your heel and returned to the sink. 

As you scrubbed the remains off the plates, your eyes fell on the picture again, a promise running through your mind.

 _I'm gonna get you_.

-

"If you look here, you can see there's a dip in the panel. It's more shallow than the others."

You squinted your eyes at the photo Thor was running his hand along, trying to gather what he was saying. You followed his finger, and noted the slight depression in the otherwise flat panelling. 

"I see it..."

"That's how he's getting in and out. I'm sure he used some tech to disable the cameras and alarms, then he broke in, got to the floor right above the vault and took out the panelling."  
  
"And he tried to put it back, but he screwed up. We need to get photos from the other vaults-"

"Right here. Look, they both have the same dip in the panelling."

You looked at the other photos and clear as day, they both had the same depression in the ceiling as the others. It was enough to bring a teeth baring grin to your lips. 

"Steve is going to very happy."

"You can say that again. I was thinking...we could present it on Monday to the team." Thor circled the table and came to stand beside you.

"You don't think we should wait? See if it all checks out first?"

"Well I think this is a solid lead. There's no harm in bringing it to their attention."

"That's true..."

"Was this your theory?" Thor squinted at you, wondering if his find was related to what you were going to tell him in the bar, before you were interrupted. 

You furrowed your brows, still focusing on the photos, "Huh?"

"At the bar, you said you had a theory on how Loki was getting in and out without a trace."

You barely registered what Thor had said, engrossed in the photos laid out.

"Uh yeah sure." You folded your arms and stood back, trying to figure out how this connected to your find at the bank and library. If there was an underground connection...why would he try to go through the ceiling? You needed to get to Sewage and Sanitation for those files. 

"Are you sure? Because-" Thor started, before he was interrupter by both your phones sounding, various chirps and bells going off in your pockets.

When you pulled it out and read the text on the screen, you met Thor's uncertain eyes. 

"They're calling us in..."

Thor compiled all the photos in a folder and you grabbed your purse, rushing through the door to get to the precinct.

* * *

"I'm sorry to call you in on a Saturday, but I just got some important news."

Steve gripped the edge of the podium, knuckles white and mouth shut in a grimace. Tony was absent, and though he gave Steve point on the case, you thought the urgency would call for him to be there. 

The haird at the back of your neck stood up, and you waited in anxiety for what he would say next. You looked over at the others, gauging their reactions. Nat's stiffened jaw betrayed the cool composure she tried to convey. Unlike her, Sam didn't try to hide his bewilderment, eyes dead set on Steve with a knit in his brow. Thor matched his expression, fingers tapping on the table he shared with you. Everyone was in wait, agonizing over what Steve's next words would be.

As you looked over at Bucky though, you were taken aback by how calm he was. There was no wrinkle of nerves, no obsessive fidgeting. His arms were folded and his blue eyes were soft and unfocused. You figured Steve told him already. Bucky was the longest serving on the force, he would be up there with his longtime friend if he hadn't turned down every promotion he was offered, as you heard from various whispers throughout the precinct. But even if he shared your title as detective, you considered him to be on the same level of authority as the sergeant. He and Steve were the only two in the room privy to some concealed information that was looming over the rest of you like an all consuming darkness, ready to pounce on the hand that dared to approach. 

"The chief called Tony in today...he's still at the office now but...he told me that they're considering giving the case over to the Bureau. 

Moans and words of disapproval erupted throughout the room.

"The FBI? Are you kidding me? Like that's gonna change anything." Sam frowned.

"He said considering, Sam. Maybe they'll give us a chance." Nat offered, trying to calm him down.

"They don't give a damn about us. All they care for is the optics. A thief is running wild through the city and we haven't caught him yet." Thor asserted.

You looked over at Bucky, who was quiet. He definitely knew beforehand.

"I hate to say it, but Thor's right. It looks bad. Unless we come up with a lead fast, they're taking the case from us." Steve confirmed.

While you understood the reasoning behind the move, you hated having to give up everything you worked on. Especially when you were so close to figuring it out. You ate, slept and breathed this case and to have some black suits from the bureau come and take it all away, well it would just break your heart.

You felt a nudge in your side, and you looked over at Thor, furrowing your brows at him.

He nodded to the folder between the two of you containing the photos. 

"Do it now." He whispered.

"What? Why me?"

"If they care about the optics so much, it would look better for the new hire to be the one that found the lead. This might make them change their minds and give us the case for good." 

"But I-"

"Y/n found something." Thor announced to the room.

Everyone's eyes turned on you and you glared at him.

Steve folded his arms and looked you expectantly.

"Go ahead." Thor whispered. 

"I-" you thought about what Thor said, and maybe he was right. Maybe this would help them postpone giving the case away even if it's for a little while. Just until you could put all the pieces you found together. 

You grabbed the folder and matched to the front. You pinned each photo up and turned. 

You took a breath and swallowed, mouth suddenly dry.

Thor nodded to you and you could feel Steve's eyes peering into the side of your head. 

"I think I know how he's getting in."

Sam perked up from where he slouched on his seat. Nat furrowed her brows and leaned forward. Steve gave Bucky a look, which the brunette returned, and motioned for you to go on.

"If you look here," you pointed at the first photo, "there's a depression in the ceiling. The same goes for the other two. Here and here."

Steve came to stand beside you and looked over the photos.

"He gets to the floor above the vault after disabling the cameras and the alarms, and somehow, he removes the panelling, but when he puts it back, it's no longer exact. There's a dip left behind."

You repeated Thor's words to the team and they all squinted at the photos. Then you decided to go on, motivated by the prospect of losing the case. 

"And it makes sense. The vaults all have sound construction, the walls, the floors, but the ceiling, there are light fixtures and vents it would be easy for him to gain access to it. I think we should follow up on this. This is how he's getting in and out."

Steve nodded and turned to you.

"This is good work, Y/n. We might get to keep the case after all. You did this on your own?"

You looked at Thor, but when you parted your lips to give him credit, he shook his head. You furrowed your brows, silently questioning why. He gave you a look to remind you of what he said. _Right. The optics_.

"Yep...all me."

Steve eyed you, then he turned to the rest of the team.

"Well guys, I say this is a win. You all can go now, but first thing Monday, we need to head out to each location and check this out. Good job, Y/n."

With that, Steve left.

Sam patted you on the shoulder, praising you for your keen eye. Nat smirked and gave her kudos while Thor nodded to you, silently thanking you for your compliance with a squeeze on your arm. 

Amidst the praise, you looked over the photos again and you suddenly felt uneasy. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. It was way too early. But if it gave you the time you needed, then so be it.

"Nice work." You had forgotten about Bucky, who had faded into the background as you lost yourself in thought.

You smiled tightly at him, "Thanks."

He came to stand to your right, looking over the photos as well.

A beat of silence passed before he spoke again, "It's all a little convenient for my taste but, that's why you're here right?" 

"Huh?"

"I just mean, the answer was so simple. Why didn't we see it before?"

"Oh uh...I guess things can get lost in plain sight."

He turned to you and a smile slowly formed along his features, "You can say that again."

He turned and left the room leaving you more confused than you were before. You shook your head and removed the photos, placing them in your desk before heading to the parking lot to finally get home. 

* * *

A suggestive moan left your lips as you crossed the threshold of your apartment and closed the door, stretching your limbs as you tried to rid your body of the stress that decided to take a physical toll on you. You hooked your purse on the rack and peeled off your jacket. Just as you were about to turn on the light, a rush of cool air ran over your body and you sighed, relishing in the sensation.

But wait...

Where did that come from?

You looked over to windows that you definitely closed before going to meet Thor.

One of them was open, curtain dancing in the night breeze and offering a scarce view of the outside.

Something was wrong...

You slowly reached for your gun, concealed as always behind your back, swallowing the giant lump in your throat. 

Before your fingers could curl around the handle, a dark and threatening voice spoke from behind. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, detective. I'm only here for a chat."

You lifted your hand and turned slowly, eyes falling on a tall figure, partially illuminated. Half his face was visible in the moonlight and there was those unmistakable eyes...that curl in those lips. 

"I must say, I'm _most_ delighted to _finally_ meet you, Y/n. I would introduce myself, but I'm fairly certain you know who I am by now."

You clenched your fists and stiffened your jaw, uttering the name you've come to loathe with every fiber of your being.

"Loki."


	6. Chapter 6

Fists clenched at your sides, you held your tongue as the trickster thief circled you. 

"Oh how I've dreamt of this moment. _Yearned_ for it, _ached_ for it-"

"Cut the bullsh*t, Loki. Why are you here?"

"Oh I _like_ you...but really, Y/n, is that any way to talk to your biggest fan?" He stilled in front of you, lips curled into a devious smirk and hands clasped behind his back. 

"If you don't get to the point, you'll be having a nice chat with my gun next."

Loki closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. In a few seconds, your hands were compromised behind your back and his hot breath wafted along your ear. You felt his chest warm against your back and his hand curled around your front, holding your tilted jaw up. 

"Listen here you _mewling quim_. I do not take kindly to threats. I would very much appreciate it if you shut those pretty lips of yours and let me speak."   
  
You flared your nose and clenched your jaw, blinking rapidly at the close proximity of his face to yours. He smelled of hickory and cigarettes and your nose scrunched. 

"If you want me to listen, let me go."

"I'll need you to keep your hand off your gun."

You looked down, silently debating his words. He was clearly skilled in combat, and he did have the advantage of height. But were you curious enough to hear what he had to say? You've been waiting to catch him for months and here he was in your apartment. Maybe you could send a discrete message to the team, find someway to text them while you're held up by this lunatic.

"It's important." He whispered in your ear.  
  
Taking a criminal's word, especially one you were after, for truth was inconceivable. But you swore there was a hint of fear and concern in his voice and you measured the risk. A very small part of you was screaming to listen to him. It was nagging, pestering you until you finally nodded, agreeing to adhere to his conditions.

He slowly removed his hand from your throat and loosened his hold on your arms. You flicked your wrist, trying to ease some of the ache that had formed in the position. You turned as you cradled your wrist in your left hand, eyeing him with confusion.

"You need to stop the investigation."

You blinked. One, twice, before a humorless chuckle left your lips and you shook your head.

"You want us to stop trying to catch you? _That's_ a shock."

He chuckled right along with you and turned his azure eyes on you, his stare intense even in the dark.

"Listen to me, detective. Things aren't what they seem. If you continue to dig, you're not going to like what you find."

"I don't care. We've spent months trying to put you and your crew behind bars. I'm not just going to stop because you say so."

"Not even if I ask nicely? Not even after I left you the little gift revealing my identity?" He tilted his head, baring his teeth.  
  
You didn't respond, maintaining your stance and tightening your jaw, infuriated by his jest. You still didn't understand his reason for leaving behind the calling card, but you knew he had some play in mind. 

Loki sighed and closed his eyes. After a couple of seconds he returned his gaze to you.  
  
"Still a no? Well, I must say I'm _very_ disappointed. I just might have a chat with another member of your team. Maybe little Morgan would like a visit from Uncle Loki-"

"Don't you dare lay a finger on any of them." The prospect of someone on the team getting hurt, and worse yet one of their children, fueled the fire raging inside of you threatening to burn everything in its path.

"Calm down, kitten. I'm a reasonable man. Two days. I'll expect an answer by then. That'll give you enough time to think over what I've said...and to see the faces of your fellow friends once more should you choose to decline. I assume there's no need to warn you on telling anyone about this little chat."

"And what about your brother? Huh? Does that threat include _him_?"

Your words seemed to hit a nerve and his eyes sharpened.

"My brother is more than capable in taking care of himself. I've learnt that the hard way."

You furrowed your brows at that and almost as if you'd never asked, the playful grin returned to his face, 

"Well, I thoroughly enjoyed this talk, but I'm afraid I must go now."

He then sauntered over to your open window and raised a foot over the ledge.

"Wait...how will I reach you?" You couldn't believe you were even considering establishing some sort of exchange with him, but the thought of seeing the people you've come to care for get hurt had you racking your brain for any way out of it. 

"You have my card detective, I suggest you use it."

With a devious grin, he disappeared into the night. You stood there for some time in the dark. The ticking clock in the background, the wind howling through the window. 

Another thorn in your plans. That's all it was. Stay calm, Y/n. And that's what you would do, stay calm. He wanted the team to stop digging, but you were so close especially with the new lead. How would you even begin to delay it in the first place? Steve was going crazy as it was, especially with the chief considering handing the case over to the FBI. Even if you decided to go Loki's way, he said to use his card. How did that help? It's not like he printed his personal number on there is it? It didn't matter though. You were so close...

All your off the clock work were proving more and more helpful everyday and you still haven't presented all your findings to the team. If you pushed on, then maybe it'll lead to something even bigger and before the two days were up, you could catch him. Maybe the bastard was scared and was trying to scare you into giving up. Maybe he knew how close you were, but how? The only people that knew about the recent leads were those on the team. 

Nothing made sense. Your mind was vegetable soup, runny and muddled and messy. You shook your head and moved to the window, closing it and latching it. You made a mental note to fortify your place when you had the time before you retired to your room, hoping to sleep off the oncoming headache.

* * *

The next day, you woke up with a strong determination you'd never had before. It was Sunday. The day designated to picnics, movies, walks on the beach and ice cream. But while the city would be indulging in cheesy rom-coms and dairy treats, you would be deep in files. You took a quick shower and changed in record time. You grabbed an apple and rushed out the door, ready to get to the Sewage and Sanitation office. 

-  
"Don't get many visitors here. Maybe the occasional uptight housewife complaining 'bout her neighbour's drain overflow or someone scared outta their wits 'bout some gator but other than that we're pretty empty, so it's nice to see a fresh face 'round here."

You smiled at graying older man, Charlie. His slight drawl dragging out the words he spoke, more grating than it was on the phone. 

After speaking to the snot-nosed receptionist at the main branch (and after your experience at two of the bank, it seemed like every receptionist was a spoilt wench) and receiving the news that you weren't allowed access to those types of files, and getting reconnected about 5 times on the phone, you'd finally found your diamond in the rough.

You had to visit 3 other divisions, some having literally nothing to do with the Sewage systems, but the sweet guy, Charlie, on the last number you were reconnected to had told you they mostly responded to any calls or problems people had with their drainage, but he assured you that his division was the first built and you should be able to get what you were looking for. 

"Well, when my Enviro professor gave us this assignment, I had no idea what to write on. But then my mom told me about this protest she went to against the sewer systems so I did a little research."

"Oh yeah, I remember those old drains. I helped build 'em. Kind of broke my heart when we had to shut it down but, all the better for the environment, right?"

You nodded along with him and pulled out the modern Reference map, outlining the most recent sewer system. You laid it out on the counter top at the desk he sat, shifting the small plant to smoothen it out..

"So, this is the current system right?"

He squinted at the map and nodded. "Yep. Ten years and still goin' strong."

"The biggest change between this system and the old one was the size right? The old one accounted for different water sources but the new one separates those and has no run off to the river."

He folded his arms and nodded again. "That's right."

"What I want to know, is if the old system is still accessible."

"Yeah they definitely are. We sealed as much as we could from the entrance at the river banks, but the Land Preservation Authority made a big stink about the machinery and material we used and the concern for the fish and the other wildlife nearby so we had to stop and a couple of those drains are still open. We told them people would be findin' themselves in them drains, especially druggies and hobos but they insisted that they monitor those areas regularly so we packed up and left that for good. Why'd ya ask?"

"Oh, I wanted to get a few pictures."

"We have some if you wanna see 'em."

"That would actually be great. Do you have the layout of the old system too."

"Of course, hold on." He disappeared through the hallways behind his desk and returned after a couple minutes. 

"There it is."

You bit your lip as you looked at the pictures. Those old drains are definitely large enough for a few people to fit through comfortably and it would make sense that Loki would utilise them. This definitely didn't match Thor's find. You turned your eyes on the layout next and studied the lines.

"You'll notice the map isn't too different from yours. Some of the drains were still useful so we utilized what we could as long as it didn't interfere with the new environmental guidelines. So we just closed off their connections to the spine and a few of the branches of the system and constructed divergent pathways."

Your heart beat faster and faster as his hand ran along the main drain on the layout. When referenced with the other, the spine and branches of the old sewer system went directly through each of the three locations of the bank. This was it. The connection. The detail that brought all of it together. 

All of a sudden, the dark muddy mess in your mind started to clear, revealing a light of perfect clarity. The compromised flooring, the seemingly 'random' location hits, the effortless execution of the crimes, leaving almost no trace behind. This was it. This was your holy grail.

"This is...more than helpful. Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

"I'm more than happy to help."

"Oh, can I get copies of these?" your hopeful eyes had him smiling and he nodded.   
  
"Keep 'em, we got more in the back and it's all on the system. They're really just for sentimental value. How things used to be." 

Your mind instantly ran on Loki and Thor, how things changed so drastically between them. You wondered what it would look like if they faced off, if they had to make a tough call. Would Loki ever hurt his brother?

You pushed the thought out of your mind and returned to the present, smiling once more at Charlie.

"Thanks again, Charlie." 

"Nice to see someone finally taking an interest in this work. I hope everything goes well with that paper." 

"Trust me, it will. Thank you!" You walked out the your car, maps secured in hand and a little more pep in your step. Maybe you wouldn't need to give that silvertongued toad a call. Maybe everything would finally work out. It was 2'o clock now, so you had enough time to make a few more stops. You just hoped you would get what you wanted to solidify everything.

-

"I'm so glad you called. I've been worrying that we'd become a target a second time around." The manager of City Bank pursed her lips and you shook your head.

"That won't happen Mrs.Miller, trust me." 

"Oh. I have the files for you." The manager of City Bank handed over the construction plan of the bank. You noted the same materials used as the other one. The only difference being the sound dampeners. But the same general structure was used for the vault. 

"One of the other banks used these same materials for their vault, did you have the same contractor?"

"Oh no. They're just the strongest materials for such a build. All vaults have basically the same structure, so that would account for the similarity."

You hummed and furrowed your brows, asking to to take a look at the vault.

She led you to the room and you scoured the floor for any hint of damage. There was a rough edge in one of the tiles, but that was about it. You knew he was coming from the sewers. You were sure. And it was obvious he had someway of placing everything back in place. It's what he did at Beacon Credit Union that led to the damage of the sound dampeners, producing the echo and it's what he would do here. 

You nodded to yourself and turned. As you headed back to the door, your eyes fell on the ceiling, the area Thor had shown you pictures of having a dip in the panelling. Except there was none. It was as smooth as the rest of the surface. You moved right under to make sure, tilting your head at every angle. There was nothing wrong. Did Thor lie? Did Loki have something to do with it? 

Your thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Miller clearing her throat and drawing your attention to a client of the bank waiting at the door with an employee. You turned back to the ceiling once more before walking back out the door, thanking her for her time and leaving the bank. 

When you got to the other bank, it was the same story. Same vault materials, same smooth ceiling panelling. Everything you'd found just confirmed your original theory and completely derailed Thor's. But then...what were those pictures? Were they falsified? And if they were, who did it and how did Thor get his hands on them?

The questions plagued your mind even as you fell asleep, the victory and mess of the day bringing on an onslaught of dreams. 


	7. Chapter 7

Coffee in hand, you left the small café and returned to your car. You glanced at the binder on the passenger seat, full of the files you would present to the team. When you woke up, you mapped out the next possible locations based on the underground connections to the sewers. There were only two left, Fruger Bank and Trust, and Barrow Investment, and you knew that Loki would hit one of those any day now. The other financial institutions weren't accessible by the sewers, and you were more than happy to know that they wouldn't become victim to his hand. But that meant that in a month and a half, his reign of terror would be over and he would disappear until he was ready to return to his criminal ways.

Everything you needed was right there. It was definitely enough for a follow up on those drains by the river. You felt awful about the 'lead' you'd presented to the team before. You knew they would be disappointed, but this was going to turn everything around. How would you explain the fake photos though? You'd definitely have to question Thor about them, since he was the one that alerted you to them in the first place. Maybe Loki found some way to tamper with them, tried to draw you in another direction. It was fitting with his usual tricks, but to use his brother like that... You pulled out of the lot and made your way to work, anxious about what would happen.

When the elevator doors opened you felt a change in the air. But when Sam greeted you with his usual grin, and Nat brushed your shoulder playfully you pushed away the feeling. It was the hushed tones of Steve and Bucky that rubbed you the wrong way. When you walked over to your desk, they abruptly ended their conversation, glancing at you. Your eyes searched the bullpen for Thor, but he wasn't at his usual spot. You realised he was with Tony in the briefing room, talking about something that from the looks of their expressions, seemed important. 

You took a deep breath and intercepted Steve as he made a move to enter the briefing room. Bucky was watching you the whole time, eyes locked on every move you made.

"Morning, Sarge." He folded his arms and nodded.

"Y/l/n."  
  
"I have something I wanna talk to you about-"

"I really don't have time, I'm sorry. We got a call about a hostage situation and we need to get out there."

"Oh...I um, well I guess this can wait but it really is important and-"

"No time, Y/l/n. We need to move _now_."

"Well I'll go get my-"

"You're staying here with Bucky. You don't have enough experience to deal with this."

"But I-"

"That's an order." With that he walked away, leaving you confused and irritated. You walked back over to your desk and Bucky dropped a few cases in front of you.

"We got a drunken disorderly on Maple. Better hurry, heard he just started strippin'." He walked away without another word and you sighed. You grabbed your keys and your binder. If Loki was able to switch out the photos then that means he had access to the precinct in some way. It was better if you kept them away from your desk, so you decided to secure them in your car. As you entered the elevators doors you saw Steve addressing Sam, Nat and Thor in the briefing room. So much for being part of the team. 

-  
When you got back to the precinct, the only detective left was Bucky, just as Steve said. You quickly processed the drunk man, who was still slurring about some dwarf or unicorn he needed to fight but you were overjoyed when you finally put him in the holding cell. Bucky handed you a few other cases and you had to talk to a few witnesses, but you finally had a break and you slumped in your chair. You kept glancing over at Tony, who was on the phone.

You decided against telling the whole team about the sewers. You didn't want to see any of them get hurt lik Loki had promised. But you knew you had to tell someone, and who better to tell than your Captain? Tony seemed like the kind of guy that would keep things under wraps and you knew he would understand the situation. Loki threatened his child and that was enough to strengthen your will. There's no way he would know that you talked toTony, and you knew that you wouldn't have to make that call. You bounced your leg up and down, chewing on a granola bar waiting for Tony to finish on the phone. 

Bucky looked up from his documents and raised an eyebrow at you.

"What's eating you?" He returned to his folder and smirked. 

"Nothing." You brushed the crumbs off your pants and threw the wrapper in the bin. 

"Doesn't seem like nothing."

"It's nothing, ok?" He got up and walked over to you, that smug smirk still on his face.

"You know, I learned a lot from being on the force. Always keep your guard up, expect the unexpected you know. _Things like that_. But the _one_ thing that _always_ stuck with me, is that keeping secrets can get people _killed_. Me and Steve, we tell eachother everything. We're a team, and that's what it means being part of a team, you know?" 

He rubbed the stubble on his chin, and you furrowed your brows wondering what he was getting at.

"I guess there just comes a time when you have to make a decision. You're either _on_ the team, or _off_. There's no in between."

He pushed off your desk and pulled in his lips, tapping his head with a finger while he looked at you before walking away. 

Bucky hadn't really talked to you much before, but these days the things he _would_ say made zero sense to you. Not so much what he said, but how he said it, almost as if he knew something you didn't. Did he? Or did he still just not trust you? Just when you thought everything was clear, it became one big mess again. 

As you opened your draw to grab another granola bar, to drown your feelings and fears in sugar, your eyes landed on the falsified photos Thor had given you. You picked them up and looked through them thoroughly. You got up from your desk and headed down to the evidence locker, requesting the photos they kept down there. 

You compared the two and just as you'd found out, they were different. The dip in the ceiling was clearly false. You ran through each one, wondering if there was any other change in the photos. After finding none, you came to the image of Loki's calling card, the jester taunting you with his grin. There was no difference between the two. The same stupid jester with the same stupid grin was splayed across the card. As you stared at the image thigh, you remembered Loki's words.

_You have my card, detective. I suggest you use it_.

You returned the right photos and requested to see the card. You scanned it but there was no indication of any sort of information about him. The black lines framing the jester certainly stood out amongst the green colour scheme, but that was it. As you traced the rectangular border though, you noted that the lines were tapered. They varied in thickness, and what you thought was a solid line, was actually a collection of smaller ones coming together but it was so minute, you couldn't make out if there was a pattern or not. You pulled out you phone and zoomed in on the line.

A gasp escaped your lips. There wasn't a number or an address, but there was a name.

HORTON STUDTROT

You weren't only taken aback by the odd name, you were confused as to who exactly it could be. Was it his accomplice? Was it an alias? You would definitely make a search on the database when you got back to your desk. You took a screenshot and returned it to the person on duty, the name still ringing through your mind. 

-

When you returned upstairs, everyone was back. Nat and Sam were talking at her desk, Buck and Steve and Thor over by the watercooler. Now was your chance. While everyone was preoccupied you rushed in to see Tony, the binder with all the information was still secured in the trunk of your car, and you would retrieve it as soon as you explained everything.

You walked over to his office and knocked on the door. 

His slightly muffled voice welcomed you in and the first thing that struck you was the look on his face. He seemed...agitated? Worried? He motioned for you to sit and you did. You tapped your fingers nervously on your leg.

"Sir...is everything ok? Did something happen with the hostage-"

"Everything is fine, Y/n."

What was up with people interrupting you today? And Y/n? He hardly ever used your first name. What happened to kiddo, or rookie? 

You shook your head and continued.

"There's something I have to tell you-"

"I think I already know what you're going to say." You furrowed your brows. Could he be referring to exactly what you meant?

"So you know about-"

"Yes. And I'm disappointed that you didn't come to me sooner, Y/l/n."

Okay. It didn't make any sense. He was definitely not talking about what you were talking about. But now you were more curious as to what exactly he was angered by.

"Wait...what are you talking about?" 

"I'm talking about how you falsified evidence!" He slammed his hand on the table and made you jump. Even if your back was to the bullpen, you knew that the noise drew the attention of everyone outside. 

"You mean those pictures? Those weren't mine I-"

" _You_ were the one that presented it to the team. _You_ were the one with those pictures in your possession!"

"No I wasn't. I got them from-"

"You're suspended till further notice."

Your jaw dropped. Tony wouldn't even look at you.

"Captian I-"

"Not another word, Y/l/n. I expected more from you. We all wanna catch this guy, but that's not the way to do it. You'll receive a call from IA to go in and hand in your badge and gun. They've started the investigation into this, so it would be better if you packed your things and went home."

You didn't say anything else. If he thought you falsified those photos, then nothing you could say would change that. You knew how it looked, and from his perspective he had every right to think the worst. You did present those pictures coincidentally on the same day you could have lost the case to the bureau. Everything pointed to you. 

You nodded at Tony, who ignored you as you left his office. 

Steve's arms were folded, his stare forceful. Bucky was right along there with him. Nat and Sam's usual cheerful smiles were replaced with disappointed frowns, but you sensed a hint of pity in their eyes. You walked past Thor, not bothering to even look at him. He could've fixed this, told the truth but it was too late now and you knew it. You started to pick your things into the box, already on your desk. You were on autopilot, still confused as to what was happening. Loki would win after all. Then the odd name on the card popped up in your head. You looked around to see if anyone was still glaring at you. Thankfully, on the sight of you finally putting your things way, they'd turned away to complete whatever task needed to be done. You quickly queued up the criminal database on your computer and typed in the name.

Zero search results.

You searched citizen files and still nothing. You knew it was a stretch and just as you'd suspected it turned up empty. You deleted the history for good measure, not wanting anyone to have anymore reason to suspect you, then you silently packed your things and headed to your car. 

Just as you opened your trunk, you heard footsteps quickening as they came closer. You turned and caught the sight of an out of breath Thor, tie swinging on his chest.

"Y/n. I'm glad I caught you before you left.

"Like I had a choice." The words were biting, and he winced. 

"Look, I tried to tell them everything but Steve had already reported it to IA and he thought I was just trying to take the blame for you."

You shook your head and huffed.

"Whatever. Three and a half months in and I'm already suspended. Dream career my a*s."

Thor sighed, "Look, I'm sure the investigation will prove your innocence. I don't know how exactly those photos ended up on my desk, I assumed Steve put them there since he'd handed them out that day for you guys to look over them but...I guess someone got to them before I could and switched them out and by the time you guys had already ran through the real ones and handed them back into evidence, I took those home. I didn't know they were fake."

"And you didn't know your brother would become a notorious thief either so I guess you're the victim here." You were hurt and angry and frustrated, but you still regretted the words as you said them. 

"That's what I'm saying, it had to be Loki. He knows getting you off the case would make our chances at ever catching him even smaller than they were to begin with."

You'd stopped listening to what Thor was saying, your head hot and extreme exhaustion running through your body. You held your temple and inhaled deeply. 

"Look. It doesn't matter anymore ok? I'm gonna be sitting on my a*s at home while he runs free. Just like I was stuck in the precinct all day while you guys went out to that hostage situation."

Thor rocked on his heels and out his hands jn his pockets. You raise an eyebrow and he shrugged. 

"Actually, that was a lie. Steve used that to get everyone else out of the precinct to brief us on the investigation into you. He left Bucky to watch over you."

"They're treating me like I'm some criminal..." You forced the tears back as you cast your gaze to the floor.

"Considering what happened, that's exactly what they think you are."

You bit your lip and closed your eyes. All the hope you felt that had been steadily declining all throughout the day, was drained of every drop right there and then. You didn't say anything else, only staring at the cold concrete floor beneath you. Thor's phone vibrated and he pulled it out, taking a quick look then turning back to you.

"Look, I'm really sorry, Y/n. About everything. I have to go now, but just trust me. Everything will be okay."

He ran back the way he came and as the frustration and anger built up even more, it spilled over into a punch to the box as you pounded your fist into the side, your hand slipped and you cut the back of your palm on the edge of the paperweight you'd kept on your desk. Just when you thought things couldn't get worse as the blood dripped from your hand, right where the fresh crimson liquid fell, you realised only now that the space was empty. And it was exactly where you'd kept every bit of information on how Loki was robbing the banks.

* * *

Bleeding and tear soaked, you trudged into your apartment and placed the box on the coffee table after bolting the door. You held your head in your hands, willing yourself to stop crying after that 10 minute sob session in your car outside your apartment. You slumped on the couch and looked to the window, the same one Loki had broken into. 

_Things aren't what they seem, detective._

Oh how you wished those words were true. As of right now, your life was completely and utterly a steaming pile of manure. Everytime you found an answer, 10 questions popped up. It was the usual one step forward 3 steps back problem that you'd heard a million times before, but you'd never truly known what it felt like till now. Why wouldn't Steve Tony listen to a word you said? Why did Bucky insist on the mind games? Did Loki steal the binder? And how did he get those photos on Thor's desk?

You stared at the ceiling. A vast expanse of nothing in the dark. Question upon question floated around your mind as you replayed the events of the day. 

Then, what Thor had said when you brushed him off came back to you.

He said that Loki knew getting you off the case would lessen the chances of catching him. But that didn't make sense. The only way it would is if he knew Thor would show them to you and you would be the one presenting the falsified pictures to the team. Yeah the guy was meticulous and tricky, but there was no way he could predict the future. It didn't add up. His words rang through again. 

_Things aren't always what they seem_.

You pulled up the one thing you had left concerning Loki on your phone. The picture you'd taken with the odd name.

HORTON STUDTROT 

No records. No address, driver's license, criminal history even. Almost as if he didn't exist. But why would Loki draw your attention to his card if this concealed name wasn't important.

As you studied the name, a few of the letters started to jump out at you the longer you looked at it. You rushed to your desk in the bedroom and grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper, putting on the light quickly and falling onto the sofa cushion after stubbing your toe on the back of the couch.

You righted yourself and wrote out the name, separating the letters.

H O R T O N S T U D T R O T

You started making various combinations of letters, combining consonants, vowels, fitting them in between and searching for common words. You'd made it down a line of possible combinations but none made any sense. Then, as you pulled out words one by one from the odd phrases you restructured, it hit you. You wrote down a certain combination of words containing the same letters and you heartbeat accelerated in your chest, rattling your rib cage. It wasn't a name, it was a message. An _anagram_. And what it said, well it sent _shivers_ down your spine,

**HORTON STUDTROT**

**DO NOT TRUST THOR**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus update because I want to accelerate the story a bit. I hope you enjoyed this next chapterrrrr


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know exactly how I want this story to go, but man if I'm not stumped sometimes on how to fit certain aspects of it together. Here's another chapter again haha. More coming soon. Enjoy!

**DO NOT TRUST THOR**

The words were stained in your head, even as you slept. Your dreams contorting into hellish images of a future and a once pleasant past you've come to dread. At first, you brushed it off. Loki was a criminal. A thief. A liar. He threatened those around you and he would say anything to draw you into the strings he's been tugging at for years under his slender and dangerous hands. 

And Thor...Thor was a breath of fresh air in an unknown world when you first came to the precinct. He was the first to smile at you. Eyes locking on yours from across the room and introducing himself. He made you laugh.   
  
He was the first to partner with you on a case. You spent hours in your squad car, waiting for a guy who was suspected of dealing drugs to kids to slip up. He introduced you to his favourite taco truck on that stakeout, telling you that even if it was work, it didn't mean you couldn't have a good time with some good food. 

He was the first one to remind you that sometimes bad guys get away. He'd given you a nudge of encouragement when you beat yourself up over one of your earlier cases. You were sure about your suspect. The son of a b*tch arsonist has burned down two houses and had gotten off due to a lack of evidence. _That's just the way it is, Y/n_ , he said.

And if you weren't prepared for it, you were in the wrong line of work.

But who was he really? We all present ourselves as fragments. Revealing only the parts we wanted others to see. For admiration, respect, maybe even fear. Had Thor manipulated you into letting your guard down around him? Allowing him to slink his murky hands into your mind and being the force behind every bad thing that happened? You suddenly replayed every sentence he spoke, every action he had taken since you met. He was unassuming. The kind of guy that was intimidating at first, but turned out to be a big teddy bear with good intentions. At least, that's what he lead you to believe.  
  
It hurt. Everything about it hurt. You felt like throwing up everytime you thought about it. And if you were honest with yourself, within the confines of your heart, the part you'd locked away a long time ago after being jilted by "love" for your vulnerability in the past, there was a tinge of hope. A hand reaching for what could be... You thought there was a possibility, an opportunity for something more with Thor. The way he would smile at you, talk to you, ask you if you were ok...to think it was all a ruse was a crushing blow to that hidden part of yourself.

You stared at the rain pattering against your window. It fell almost rhythmically, each drop crashing against the glass and slowly curving down to the sill where it disappeared below. You closed your eyes. None of it even mattered. What was done was done and you were once again the pariah. Your name was soiled. And everything you'd compiled to hopefully clear the suspicion hanging above your head, was gone. Stolen. Whether it was by Thor, Loki. It didn't matter. 

You willed yourself up from your bed and stretched away the pain in your muscles. The regular routine ran through. Shower, breakfast, coffee. Except now, there was no rush. No anticipation. No preparation for a day of work. Outside of bending over case files and striking interrogations, you never had much else to look forward to. That was your life. Work was your life. Without it, who were you? The question bothered you from time to time, but only now had it really sprung some sense of worry. You never took time to catch a movie, or visit the local museum. Take a walk on the beach or a pottery class. Were you really that mundane? That empty? 

The voices of the characters on the TV faded as you pondered more and more about where you were in your life. Everything looked so easy on the screen. There they were laughing amongst eachother in a coffeeshop. Superficial problems, superficial answers. A life of complete bliss. Who wouldn't dream of that? 

But you weren't wired that way. You believed in hard work. You craved it. Every case was like a new and exciting challenge for you. With heroes and villains and civilians needing to be rescued. But the more you thought about the central point of your life, being the sole determinant on whether there was balance or not in your own little world, especially now that it was gone, seemed pathetic. You needed to forget everything and get away. Even just for a day before your mind became numb. You shot up off the couch and marched to your closet, already mulling over where you would go.

* * *

You inhaled the hotdog you'd purchased from a street vendor as you walked through the park, watching the ducks trailing behind eachother in the still water of the pond. The rain had thankfully stopped, and though you'd hadn't planned on going to the park, on a whim you decided to get out of your car and stroll through the area. The sun was streaming through the layer of clouds that allowed for the perfect shade as you walked along the trail. You hadn't thought about the mess of your life since you left your apartment. At least you tried hard not to, instead focusing on everything around you. Being completely present. Taking in the sour taste of the mustard and the softness of the bun. The chatter of the walking group nearby and the laughter of the kids in the playground. And it helped.

Everything was still for a moment. Peaceful. You sat on a bench and took it all in. You walked through the gardens and studied the flowers. You even stopped to run your hands through the fur of an excited golden retriever (with the owner's permission of course) who'd decided your jeans were interesting. For once in your life, you'd taken a moment to just let everything go, and contrary to what you'd thought, you didn't crash and burn on your little trip to self indulgence. 

When the heat caused your t-shirt to cling to your back, you decided to cut your cut your stroll short. You walked back to your car and drove. To where? You had no idea. You whipped through the city streets, dotted with people and colours and noise and wound up on the back roads on the outskirts of town. You rolled down the windows and the breeze ripped through your hair, ruining whatever style you'd managed to throw it in that day but you didn't care. You blasted the music on the radio and screeched the words to the sky, shimmying where you sat with your hands on the wheel, eyes on the open road and bare fields around you letting go of everything and enjoying where you were. You were on a cloud of calm and nothing could ruin the day you were having. Until something smacked against your face and you swerved heavily to the right, peeling off whatever blocked your eyesight and righting yourself on the road.

You pulled over and closed your eyes, caressing your head in your hands and sighing in relief that you were still breathing. What the hell was that? You looked around for whatever managed to interrupt your day and came across a paper, folded in half at your feet. You weren't a neat freak by any means, but you also didn't leave things lying around to make sure would avoid exactly what happened seconds before. 

You picked up the paper and pulled it open. A neat script ran across the page in black ink.

**Grove Cemetery. 6:00. We're not done.**

Just when you had a moment of escape. Just when you thought you were on the brink of some spiritual soul searching, this a*shole had to find a way to squirm into what you thought would be your temporary paradise. Despite your committment to your little journey to enlightenment, you did have enough for one day. Maybe Loki breaking into your car and leaving this note was a good thing. Maybe it was a sign that when there was unfinished business, ignoring it was not the solution. You've been trying to get away from everything thinking it would solve everything, when really you were getting away from yourself. Who you were at your core. And that person, was the girl that was pissed off and wanted to break some limbs to get back her balance. You would go to that cemetery because Loki was right. You weren't done.

* * *

5 minutes. 

That's how long it would take before he would make his appearance, at least you hoped he did. Maybe he was one of those people that always arrived ten minutes late. Or maybe he was already here like an early bird to catch the worm. Worm being you. Or you were overthinking the whole thing because you were screaming internally over what he could possibly have to say to you. You had a few choice words for him and it was fitting that you were in a cemetery, because if he brought you here to screw you over even more, then he was a dead man.

You leaned against the tree that gave you the best view of the entire area. Buried in the ground before you were those already lost to the inevitable. Death. Why did he pick this place anyway? Was he going to make another threat? Did he already hurt someone? The two day limit he had given you was up today so maybe he came to make good on his promise. Butterflies suddenly fluttered throughout your stomach and you were cursing yourself for ignoring his words. But what could you have done? You were out of the job and under investigation. And even though it was unexpected and unintentional, that would have to suffice.

"And here I thought vigilance was part of your job description."

You snapped your head to the voice behind you. He was standing casually, one foot crossed in front of the other with that stupid smirk.

"Haven't you heard? I'm not a detective, anymore." You folded your arms and clenched your jaw. 

"You were only suspended."

"For now. No matter how this investigation turns out, I'm done. When you have IA on your back, you lose all integrity. But you knew all that, didn't you?"

He chuckled darkly, "You think I did this?"

"Who else?" You couldn't believe he had the audacity to suggest that the idea of him being involved was ludicrous. 

"I trust you deciphered my code." He cast his gaze to the fallen leaves below, crunching them under his shoes.

"Code is a strong word. You weren't exactly subtle with your message."

"That was the point. I needed it to be clear. We don't have much time." 

"What are you talking about? We? There is no 'we'. You threatened the lives of my coworkers, my boss' daughter-"

"You must think the worst of me to believe I would hurt a child." 

"Well forgive me if you've gained a bad reputation in my book."

A few seconds of silence past and you sighed, willing yourself to calm down a bit.

"They were empty threats. I have no desire to bring harm to anyone."

"In case you haven't noticed, you put a lot of people out of their hard-earned savings." 

"I had no choice!" His sudden anger flashed in his eyes and his voice startled you as he stepped toward you.

He then backed away a little and swallowed.

"Look, you might think you know me, but you don't. I'm sure my brother painted a pretty little picture about the kind of man I am."

"You didn't do yourself any favours when you broke into my apartment or my car either."

He clenched his jaw and shook his head slightly, looking out amongst the cemetery.

"Do you see that headstone there?"

He motioned to a stone monument that stood out among the rest on the other side of the cemetery. It was a little larger and had a different shape, with sharper edges unlike the smooth curves of the others.

"Good old mom and dad." A humorless chuckle escaped his lips and he fixed his cobalt eyes in the distance beyond the tombstone.

"My brother wasted no time in arranging the funeral. I wasn't even invited."

You looked at him. Thor failed to mention that part.

"For years, he has taken everything that matters to me. Turned my own father against me. My mother she...I never got to say goodbye. I know I'm not worthy by any means of forgiveness or sympathy, but I cannot stand by any longer and watch my brother ruin people's lives for his own benefit. I stood by and watched it happen to you and for that I am truly sorry. But I'm done bending to his will. It ends here."

You looked to the soil under your feet and bit your lip. You had to be crazy. You had to have some mind-altering disease that just craved trouble. There was no other explanation for why you felt such a strong conviction to listen to him. You'd harboured such rage toward him, but hearing his side of the story had you reconsidering everything you thought. You knew what it was like to be estranged from a parent and to lose one. You weren't exactly on speaking terms with your father and well, your mother died when you were young. It seemed like Loki had no one. If what he was saying was the truth, then he was more alone than you could have possibly thought. 

Loki looked out amongst the cemetery and checked his watch. He couldn't explain everything here. 

"Look, I know this is insane, and you can leave right now if you don't believe a word of what I'm saying, but I need you to come with me."

You furrowed your brows, "Why? Can't you just say what you need to say here?"

"My brother doesn't come here anymore, which is why I chose this place for our little meeting. But I can't risk us being seen together by anyone."

You rolled your eyes and huffed. No one was around. This particular cemetery was somewhat private, but of course there would be one or two people passing by to pay respects. Along with the groundskeeper in the shed across the way so maybe he wasn't lying. It could have been a ruse to get you somewhere alone and stick a knife in your throat, but you didn't really have anything to lose. Leave now and the mess was still there, but take the risk to go with him and maybe you'll get closer to returning your life back to the way it was. You made your decision and turned to him. Loki watched you with hopeful eyes, praying that you'll agree to go with him.

"Fine. But we're taking my car and you're driving. I'm not taking my eyes off of you for one second."

"Oh I don't mind that one bit, darling." Just like that, the smug grin returned to his lips as the mirth fell back into his eyes. You walked alongside him to where your car was parked and hoped that you weren't making a huge mistake. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel terrible for disappearing, but this took a while to piece together and I wasn't going to rush something down just for another update. This chapter deals mostly with Loki's backstory. I hope you enjoy.

You stood stiff, arms folded in the dimly lit living room of the large stone and shingle lakehouse. The water crashing softly against the wooden deck extended into the water outside did little to quell your nerves. The large bay and arch windows along the walls allowed a stream of moonlight to cascade throughout the house, illuminating the rich mahogany backdrops, accented by the ivory cabinets of the kitchen and the ebony furniture in the living room. The open floor plan allowed for a splendid view of the grandeur of the place, the natural tones, the smooth paint job, the immaculate staircase. 

You looked to your right, where you had a full view of the darkened forest beyond the lakehouse through the back patio, home to the creatures that preferred to mill about during the later hours. The low croaks and chirps resonating from the fresh green brush lent a calming tone to the whole ordeal, and for a moment you forgot why you were here.  
  
Loki mirrored your position. His eyes scanning you head to toe, wondering what you were thinking. When he pulled up to the beautiful lakehouse, accented by the cool, blue water and vibrant foliage, he smirked at the confusion drawing your features into a frown. You made a snide remark about him squatting there, robbing a family or some affluent couple of their days of quiet and relaxation. But he assured you that it was all his parent's property and they would frequent the area before the family fell apart. Loki wasn't left a single dime in his late father's will, and so it belonged to Thor. But he allowed Loki to stay in the house, ensuring that he was separate from society, where he could guarantee control of him. It was secluded. Away from the lights and rush of the city. It was a half hour drive through winding roads along gently sloping hills bordered by towering birch and oak trees. This was Loki's own little corner of the world. His refuge. His hiding place. And he brought you here.   
  
He was anxious on the ride over. He would chance short glances at you from time to time but your expression always escaped him. You were skilled at keeping your composure, especially in the presence of the likes of him. He was used to being the subject of fear. He can't remember a time when someone didn't shiver at his presence or avoid his gaze. Then again, he wasn't really one for smiles and small talk.

All these thoughts ran through his mind when he drove quietly through the empty road. You'd taken your share of glances at him as well, and the forlorn expression on his face tugged at your heartstrings. Your mind ran on your father as you looked out to the wide lake. Suddenly, you remembered how empty and cold it feels when there was no one on your side. No one to listen. No one to lean on. That was exactly what Loki felt.

He moved to the couch, clasping his hands together and staring at the curling flames of the fireplace. You remained silent, waiting for him to paint a more vivid picture of the underlying danger previously unknown to you.

"On Thursday, at 12:00 am I'm going to rob Fruger Bank and Trust."

Your arms fell at your sides and you picked your jaw up from off the floor.

"What?" You noted the bank as one of the locations the drainage went through. 

"My final act until I disappear again." He chuckled sadly and shook his head.

"Disappear? You do realise that I am...was a detective on the force right and there's no way in hell I'm letting that happen?"

"I know. That's why you're going to stop me _before_ it happens."

You furrowed your brows and inched closer to the sofa, deciding to take a seat before your legs gave out.

"What are you talking about, Loki?"

His nerves tingled as you said his name. It had been a long time since hearing it spoken without the tone laced with anger or disappointment.

"This is your last chance, Y/n. If you want to get back your career, if you want justice for all the people that were hurt because of what I did? Then this is the way to do it."

"So...what? I intercept you at the crime scene and you just surrender? Sorry if I find that a little hard to believe."

"I convinced Thor to let me do this one on my own. Everything is already prepared. At 12:00 am, I'm going to disable the security measures. At 12:02, I plan on sneaking into that vault. But I won't walk away with the millions of dollars in those metal boxes if you stop me before I get there."

You swallowed hard. Dreading the answer to the next question, even if you knew what he would say.

"What do you mean by 'you convinced Thor to let you do this one on your own?' "

He returned his gaze to the fire, the flames appearing in his eyes and disrupting the deep blue.

"When we were younger, I thought my brother wasn't capable of doing any wrong, much like my father did. I looked up to him, I wanted to be him...to follow in his footsteps. Then we grew up and I realised who he was..."

You stared at him, hanging onto every word he said.

"He planned it. The robberies. Your downfall. Everything."

There was no need for a word of surprise, a sound of shock. The look on your face said everything 

"On both sides of this case, he's the centre of it all."

You shifted your eyes to the fire, just as Loki did, suddenly very aware of the heat of the flames. 

* * *

Loki couldn't remember a time when he talked as much as he had with you for the past 3 hours. The shifting emotions on your face played like a film. He almost wished you would return to the stoic woman in that car, eyes on the view of the fading city lights in the rearview mirror as he drove you to the lakehouse. The once crackling and live fire was now extinguished. Much like the initial shock from every detail Loki had spilled.

He was a thief. That much was true. 

But the circumstances had been much more complicated.

You weren't surprised to find out Loki was a good student. It made sense. Clever and cunning usually paired with booksmarts. But he didn't test too well. And while he would get every question right in class and annoy the hell out of every other snot nosed student every time he shot his hand up when a teacher asked a question, he just couldn't ace whatever math or history question was put in front of him on a piece of paper. But when it came to writing, he was the top of his class. His hand moved freely across a blank piece of paper when he could fill those lines with whatever scenery was concocted in his head. The blues of his eyes lit up when he talked about writing. There was an undeniable passion that you knew all too well. A love for something you saw as bigger than yourself. And he found his at 15. 

He wanted to be a writer. He wanted to craft stories of war, politics, unexplored worlds, love. He wanted to draw people into a place that lay beyond the reaches of their imaginations. Where they could escape from their lives. Where they could fight dragons, and find friends and travel the universe. His mother would gush over every creative writing paper he brought to her and fall into the tales he designed. She had a journal specially made for him. Inspired by the Norse God he was named after, a silly image of the trickster on the hard cover, not much different from those on his calling card. While his mother's blessing and support of his dream thrilled him, the look of disappointment his father pointed at him everytime he brought home his report card gutted him.

He was a B student, bordering on C's at times. Average. His father on the other hand, wasn't an average man and definitely expected more from his seemingly average kid. He built himself from the ground up, becoming the Managing Partner of one of the largest law firms in the country. But he had a bad habit of maintaining that position at home as well, never taking on the role of father. To him, Loki saying he just didn't test well was an excuse for being lazy. He wanted him to be like Thor. The quarterback. Bringing home golden trophies and medals. Oh the great and mighty Thor, god amongst men. They all cheered him on, they all worshipped him. Thor was special in his father's eyes and Loki? He was just holding the family name. At first, it didn't bother him. He knew he and his brother were different and he couldn't care less about the douchebag friends and wonton girls that threw themselves over his blonde brother. But when his father started to cast him aside even further and throw that gutting look of discomfort his way everytime Thor dominated the football field or caught the eye of another college scout, Loki wanted to catch up. His father thought he was inferior, and he couldn't have that. Especially when his great son Thor was maintaining a D average. But Thor was happy with the way things were while Loki was starting to feel jaded. 

That's when he devised his system to cheat the system. It didn't actually include any cheating, but he would kiss his teachers' a*ses like they were his blushing lovers until his carefully designed line of questions and remarks that he eased into the conversation would reveal everything he wanted to know. It was easy. No one questioned it when he took an interest in them beyond the classroom, offering to help them grade freshman papers, clean the classroom and lug around textbooks. Suddenly, pop quizzes weren't a surprise for him anymore, the source material for essays teachers actually wanted to read were easily accessible and midterms were like a breeze. His grades were steadily climbing and his father's scowl was degrading. 

But finals was the mountain waiting for him. No amount of bribery would guarantee an A+ on those exams. He was just starting to gain his father's approval, and if these exams go by like they have before, he was going back to square one. But there was no way he would get the results his father wanted. He would just have to settle for being in his brother's shadow. He still had his stories and that was all that mattered to him. 

Just when he came to accept it though, Thor found a way to pull Loki's strings. 

_Flashback_

_Loki hummed the awful jingle of the cat food advertisement he just heard on TV as he walked back to his room. He would study as hard as he could as long as he could even if it would be in vain. He would freeze up in the tests anyway when his nerves got the better of him and push out another B grade that would decrease the small chance he thought he had of his father ever thinking more of him._

_He pushed open his door to find his brother lounging in his mattress, flipping through his journal. He couldn't remember the last time they spent more than 5 minutes together, each occupied with their own interests. Even if his brother was invading his personal space, his heart warmed a little at the sight of Thor actually coming to him._

_"He gazed upon her by the light of the moon and thought...This is love. He was finally ready to surrender to her gentle hands that coaxed his heart into beating once again..." Thor read verbatim from the pages._

_Loki's nostrils flared at the sight of his brother's hands on his private journal and stalked toward the bed, reaching towards it before Thor stood and held it above his head._

_"I have to say I'm amazed, brother. Who knew you were a romantic sap. And those naughty scenes...I thought you were a virgin? How did you come up with that stuff."_

_"Thor. Give it back."_

_"Fine." Thor passed the book to his brother and crossed his legs._

_"I know your secret."_

_"What secret?"_

_The look in his eyes made Loki nervous._

_"I know about your little...arrangements with your teachers."_

_Loki rolled his eyes, "If you're going to make some joke about me being a teacher's pet then-"_

_"No, no that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that my clever little brother found a way to bump his grade up."_

_"That's none of your business."_

_"I think it is my business. Especially since I'm up for a couple of football scholarships and father's counting on me to impress them."_

_"What does that have to do with me?"_

_"You're going to help me ace my final exams."_

_"I can do that right now. A bit of advice. Study more."_

_"You know I'm not good with that stuff, Loki. I just need need to stay above a D grade. Please?"_

_Loki eyed him, considering his proposal._

_"We used to do everything together. What happened to that little boy that used to beg me to play Kings of Battle with him? Don't you remember that? I miss you...this would help you too and you know it."_

_Loki looked at the photo of them as children. When they weren't as distant. He did think about those times often. Maybe there was a chance this would bring them closer together after being so wrapped up in their own lives. Maybe they could get back to the brothers they used to be. Their father had created this unspoken competition for his love that had inserted itself into everything they did. This time, Loki could turn the tables and work with his brother to both come out on top._

_But to help Thor, would mean to get those exams. And that would definitely be cheating. It's not like he didn't know the material, he did. But if he had the tests beforehand and saw what they looked like, walking into that exam room knowing what to expect wouldn't trip him up like always. And all Thor would have to do is to memorise the answers but be sure to get a few wrong so it wasn't suspicious when his grade came back. Funny how he'd rather do that than studying when it's the same thing, but it did require less mental effort and that was Thor's preference._

_"Fine. I'll help you."_

_"So it's easy right. In and out. You slip your hand in their drawers when they go to the bathroom or something and grab the tests."_

_"Thor, that's not what I do now. They just tell me when we're going to have a pop quiz or how to prepare for an essay. But it's not cheating."_

_"But you realise, that for this...you would have to-"_

_"I know." A plan was already formulating in Loki's head. He felt like the characters in his stories. There was a huge obstacle in his way and he was going to have to plot to remove it. It was a secret mission. An adventure in espionage and it had him trembling with excitement._

_"I have a plan."_

_Thor smiled, "Lay it on me brother."_

* * *

It was definitely a story. And one you believed. Thor got that scholarship offer. And Loki's report card was better than it had been before. The elaborate plan he devised included a mixture of clever conversation stalling, late night lock picking and right timing. Thor was impressed with the meticulous nature of his plan. Especially when all they were trying to do was cheat on a high school exam.

 _"Maybe you should do this for a living,"_ he had said _._

And they got away with it. Thor went off to college on a full football scholarship and Loki made it to his senior year with a stellar record. No one suspected anything. Loki's grades were already improving and Thor had followed his brothers instructions and was able to bump up his grade just enough for him to get the scholarship but low enough that no one thought it suspicious. 

That entire year, life was good. Loki continued on and was able to bond more with his brother, well as much as he could with him being away at college. 

Then the sh*t hit the fan. 

Thor approached Loki with another 'proposal.' His school's football team had a rivalry with another team and wanted to steal their symbol after a scuffle on the football field when they lost. The insults and punches thrown made him and he wanted revenge. Thor and his teammate, who also happened to be his dorm mate, Thanos, begged Loki to help. He didn't want to, but then Thor pulled the blackmail card. Desperate to maintain the relationship built up with his father he went along with it.

They got away with that too.

Meanwhile, Loki and his father's bond had come crashing down when he tried to force him into going ro college just when he was up for a paid internship at a Publishing firm in the neighbouring state after his teacher had submitted a few of his works and they were impressed. He wanted experience, his father wanted a degree and he made it clear that if he chose otherwise, he wasn't going to support him in any way. His mother begged him to reconsider, not wanting to lose her little boy over something so trivial. But the pair kept butting heads and soon enough, Loki was thrown out of the house and sent on his way until he came back with an apology and some sense. So he left, barely registering his mother's pained voice as she screamed at his father for what he'd done. 

Strapped for cash and wandering the streets with no real purpose, his brother found him at the train station. Thor convinced Loki he was on his side. His 'friend' Thanos offered him a place to stay, hot meals and clothes. But there was a catch. There were a few students that owed them money. For what? Thor wouldn't say. But what he did say was that Loki owed him. And if he wanted to pay him back and get him to smooth things over with their father, then he was going to have to go along with whatever they said. So they had him break into the dorm rooms of the students and take anything that looked like it was worth something. It's not like they could go to the cops, whatever illicit behaviour they were involved in with the pair made them keep their mouths shut. Thor had the idea of leaving behind a message. Something to let them know that their debt was repaid however they saw fit. Something to make them think twice before making the same mistake again. That's when he remembered the funny little character on his brother's journal. It was the perfect symbol. So they made cards, the trickster served as a warning to anyone that crossed them. 

After a few weeks, Loki was fighting with himself. He was ignoring every call from his mom, deleting every voice mail and text and it was killing him. He wasn't stupid. He finally realised what had been going on. Thor and Thanos were dealing prescription pills to other students. The ones that needed that extra chemical boost to stay awake in class after pulling all nighters and were desperate enough to buy it illegally. Their little side business was successful and they got a wild buzz from the money they were racking up. He knew it was wrong and he wanted to scream. He wrote everything in his journal, documenting every last detail of what had transpired, but he disguised it as just another story. There was no one to talk to, but escaping through those pages made him feel just a little better. 

When he made the decision to go back home, Thor convinced hin to stay for one last job. But this time, the student didn't live on campus. Loki refused. He wasn't going to break into someone else's house, it was out of the question. But like the wonderful big brother he was, Thor threatened him that if he didn't go through with it, he could forget about ever going home again. He would go to his father and tell him everything and put all the blame on Loki. So he did it. But just as he was leaving the card, he was caught. The student's father waking up from his afternoon to find a stranger in his son's bedroom and he was arrested. Thor left Loki on his own, saving his own skin. His mom bailed him out and while she was angry at what he'd done, she was happy to have her little boy back and she wasn't going to let his father leave him out in the cold. He used his sway as a well known lawyer to get Loki's sentencing reduced to basically nothing. He couldn't let him disgrace the family name. But he was pissed. He didn't allow Loki to explain himself and he definitely had no idea that his other son was involved. He didn't understand why Loki was the way he was but he had a feeling... And the secret he'd been keeping had mistakenly come out. 

When Loki found out he was adopted, he was pissed. All the times he's felt different, out of place in his own family suddenly made sense. The imbalance of love between him and his brother, the scowls he was greeted with at any little mistake unlike the brushing off of whatever Thor had done. He could only count on himself and that's how it was always going to be. He went to his father and after a long talk, he agreed to supply him with enough money to get through a year. Loki would go to the Publishing firm where the internship was still available. He didn't have a clear idea of what would happen, but he knew he needed to get away from all of it. His mother was devastated, but she respected his wishes and kissed him goodbye tearfully when he stepped out of the house, leaving everything behind. He didn't see the tears streaming from his father's eyes when he walked out. 

Just like that, Loki felt better than he ever had. Things were finally looking up and he was finally okay. He landed an assistant's job at the firm and was able to find a small apartment in the town. He chatted regularly with his mother and had even reciprocated his father's emails, asking him how he was, what he was doing and if the job was treating him well. Even if he wanted to catch up with his brother after everything he did, he couldn't as the blonde never reached out to him. But he didn't let it bother him too much. He managed to find love with a sweet girl, Clara, who attended the local college and worked at the firm part time. With a wonderful work ethic and a passion that was evident in everything he did, the firm offered to pay for his schooling as long as he came back to work for them. He was able to complete the program in two years and was offered a higher position. Things were good. He saw a future with the firm and one with Clara, who made his heart beat like a racehorse every time she smiled. For those three years he spent there, he was as close to complete bliss as one could be.

Until Thor and Thanos found him again.

This time, their little business had grown. They were now college graduates and had even more free reign, but they needed cash to pay the suppliers and there was only one way to get it. Loki was adamant on his refusal. There was no way he would help them. But then they threatened Clara's life...and his heart broke. He thought about breaking up with her, but Thor assured him that as long as he refused to help, he could forget about ever seeing her alive again. So he helped them. And it happensd again, and again until Thor took away every good thing in his life and he was back to being a puppet on a string. They pulled him out of the life he built and kept him away, until he was ready to be used again, while Thor went about like normal. 

This was his life. This was his fate. 

When you heard the last of it, you couldn't help the tears falling down your face. Loki kept his head down, hands fisted in his hair, afraid of what you would think of him. He was sure the low opinion you had of him would depreciate even further. But the gentle hand you placed on his as you held his gaze, stirred a familiar feeling within the pit of his stomach. One that he hadn't felt in a long time. You swallowed the growing hiccups in your throat at the hurt you felt and under the pale light of the moon, you made him a promise. 

"You're getting your life back. No matter what it takes."


	10. Chapter 10

"It doesn't make sense. Only an idiot would present evidence that can be disproved the next day. So why did Thor push for me to present that to the team..." 

You bit your lip as the gears of your mind turned, trying to hash out every step, every move, every action Thor took from the beginning, to place the pieces of the puzzle together for the final picture. After you finalized plans for the last robbery with Loki and how to maneuver the sewers when you got down there, the topic of your suspension came up and with that, the topic of Thor. It was clear that he gained your trust to inevitably let you take the fall for everything. The thought of you ever having a hint of feelings for him made you sick to your stomach, and all you wanted to do was to see him behind bars. 

"Obviously he played you for a fool. Perhaps he thought the team would see it as such."

"No. No way they would believe that...unless there was a reason..."

"You said that that day, you all got news of the case being potentially handed over to the Bureau-"

"Just in time for me to present that crap theory impulsively when Thor convinced me to. And they would believe it because then it comes across like I'm trying to keep the case in the precinct."

Loki watched you pace the living room, brows furrowed in the pale moonlight. There was something about the fire in your eyes, the determination in your hands that made him search every inch of his mind to help you solve the issue at hand. He knew his brother. And his brother didn't do anything without reason.

"Thor had to know about the case transfer."

Your feet stilled and you looked up at him, "That's why he pushed this...that's why he showed me those fabricated photos in the first place. He knew that under any other circumstances I wouldn't present that to the team. But he manipulated me based on information he had beforehand. But how would Thor know about..."

Your eyes went wide, and you jaw dropped as the realization kicked in. 

"There was no meeting."

Loki furrowed his brows and focused on the increased rise and fall of your chest as you came to sit next to him on the couch.

"Steve said that Tony had a meeting with the chief and they were considering handing over the case. But what if that wasn't true at all? What if that whole thing was a lie? When I got into work yesterday Steve said they were going on a call about some kidnapping. Thor told me that wasn't true and they just wanted everyone else out of there to tell them about me being investigated, he probably laughed his a*s off after he told me knowing he was the cause of it all. Bucky kept me busy with cases the whole time so I didn't suspect a thing but I was confused when Steve told me I couldn't go with them."

"So the only people that would have known about the fake meeting was Steve, Bucky and Thor. They must have set it up. All three of them."

"And that could have only happened if they knew it would force me to present those fake pictures."

"And the only way _that_ could happen, is if Thor told them about it."

"That son of a b*tch made the photos to set me up from the start. He went to Steve and probably told him that he knew what I was planning to do and that I fabricated those pictures."

"Look...I know my brother is a complete a*shole, but that's my mother you're talking about and she was no b*tch."

Loki's eyes darkened as he defended his mother's memory, looking you straight in the eye. Your heartbeat quickened, suddenly anxious of the man in front of you. 

"Thor's the b*tch." He deadpanned.

His frown suddenly lifted and the mirth returned to his eyes. Loki wanted you to calm down. He didn't like the worry lines appearing on your face. He knew everything was crap right now, but if he could lend a little light to the situation, then he would. And his remark made the pressure on your chest dissolve, and the anxiety went away. He was only trying to help and you were more than grateful. He was able to keep his composure even when his world had crumbled so much around him. He was so used to being defeated by his brother, that his concern for himself was slowly withering away. There was still a small part of him that believed that his life would never change. That he would be a puppet on a string till he took his last breath. But you wouldn't let that happen.

"Loki...you know you're getting out of this right?"

A humorless smile fell on his lips and his blue eyes turned to pools of anguish, regret..

"I've spent the better part of my life threatened by the hand of someone who I thought loved me. Someone I thought was my family. For years I have feared him, I let him talk me into doing horrible things...and now I have to deal with the consequences. But no matter what happens, Y/n...you have given me something I haven't felt in a long time." 

His eyes met yours and you fell in the intense shade of blue. The air escaped you as you tried to breathe in, the look in his eyes alluded to some reverence of you. Some appreciation for you taking a chance on him, and lending and ear to listen. You waited for him to finish, pity filling every inch of your bones at the thought of this man feeling so alone for so long. He raised his hand carefully and you caught the slight doubt in his eyes, before he released a ragged breath and placed his hand on your knee, squeezing gently.

"Hope. I have hope again because of you. Thank you, Y/n."

You were no saviour, no hero, no idol to be worshipped. You were human. You've always been a stickler for the rules, a believer in evidence and facts. But this one time, this one situation called for you to take a leap and follow your heart. Something you would never dream of doing, letting yourself be ruled by emotions. But here you were trusting in every word Loki said without an iota of evidence. But this was a man's life, and while you may think that you were simply doing what any other person would do, Loki knew for a fact that it wasn't the case. It meant the world to him, and for that he would be eternally grateful. 

You smiled, still holding his intense gaze before he removed his hand and you cleared your throat, cutting through the moment.

"So, we're really doing this huh?"

Loki knew what you meant, and he was prepared to give himself over to the authorities, as long as you brought him in.

"We are. This is my last chance to undo all the pain I've caused. I'm just glad you picked up on the my cues. Honestly, I wasn't sure you would. But after that first night, when I threatened the lives of those around you, I had a feeling you would figure it out."

"Well, you were pretty convincing that time. But I see now, you were only trying to keep up appearances."

"I never got to apologise properly for that. I'm terribly sorry I did that I wouldn't ever hurt anyone for any reason, but there was no other way I-"

"I get it. It had to be believable. I believed you then, but I believe you now, Loki. And on Thursday I will be down in that sewer, ready to end this."

"That's another thing. You can't be there on your own. You'll need someone else there, someone that _can_ be there."

It took you a while to get what he was saying, but the meaning ran clear.

"Becuase I was suspended..."

"And if you have someone from the precinct down there it'll be easier to get everyone else on your side."

The team's opinion of you of wasn't exactly rainbows and kisses right now, and although you thought about Sam or Nat, you didn't want to risk dragging them into this so early if it went sideways. Then an idea popped in your head.

"I'll call for backup when I get there. I do that, then the whole team will come running."

"They think you're a liar, Y/n. What makes you think they'll do that"

"Because I'll have you there. And when they hear that I have Loki on the hook, they _will_ come running."

"Then I guess we have a plan."

"We do. But I have one question, do I need a hazmat suit? I mean, it is a sewer."

Loki chuckled at your question and shook his head, "No there's no need for that. When they cordoned it off they did a thorough cleaning because of the water sources nearby."

You nodded. "Did you find the connection?"

Loki furrowed his brow as he looked at you.

"I mean, underground, between the banks."

"Ah...I did. They told me how much money they needed. I did my calculations and research and I knew that to steal that amount of money in such little time and leave no trace was bordering on impossible. I tried to convince them of that and I was hopeful that they wouldn't pursue it, but they wouldn't hear it. They pushed and pushed until I came across the drainage system. I was looking at a map of the city and I noticed the main waterways were connected to the same source. That lead me to seeking out the underground connection and after having our um...IT guy do a little more research-"

"You mean hacking. But continue."

Loki turned his eyes on you, silently agreeing with your interruption, "We found a way to get to all four banks easily."

"So you guys just hacked into the servers of the Water and authority and got an access route to the vaults just like that. Crime really does pay."

"But you managed to figure it out on your own. I knew you would, and you did."

"If I had sooner then maybe we wouldn't be here."

"You don't know that. My brother had all this planned from the beginning. It's why he got close to you."

"Now it makes sense why he was so adamant on finding out how I thought you were getting into the vaults."

You remembered all the times Thor asked about your theory. You thought he believed in you, was supporting you. When all he wanted was to see how close you were to figuring out their plans.

"You're right, Loki. None of that matters anymore. From here on out, all that does matter is getting him. So I'll be down there with you. We're getting out of this."

Loki swallowed, "Either way, I'll be locked up. At least this way, I'm on the right side."

You didn't know what to say. He was right. Did you expect that they'd simply forgive him for his crimes just because his brother _made_ him do it? Yeah try arguing that in court.

"Look, Y/n. I just want you to know that whatever happens..." he veered off as a buzz sounded from his pocket.

He pulled out one of those flip phones that were hot back in the 90's. You knew it had to be a burner.

"Y/n...You need to get out of here right now." 

The look in his eyes stirred terror within your gut and you stood slowly from the couch.

"What's wrong?"

"He's on his way over here with Thanos. He wants me to get the place ready for them."

He swallowed and you blinked, trying to gather your thoughts.

"How long till they get here?"

"About half hour, but if you don't leave now they'll catch up with you on the road. You'll make it to the intersection and get back on the highway before they do. Please, go."

You hurriedly placed the bottle of water you'd been drinking and the half eaten granola bars you shared with Loki in your purse. You collected your coat and rushed to the door, turning back to Loki.

"Are you gonna be ok?" After everything he told you, you were concerned about what Thor would do to him especially with Thanos there. They treated him like he was nothing, and you hated it.

"I'll be fine. Go!" Loki waved a hand toward your car, urging you forward.

You reluctantly yanked open the door and rushed over the stone pathway to your car. You threw your purse and coat in the backseat and hopped in the front, backing out and away from the property. Loki watched as your car got smaller and smaller as you drove away. He only hoped you would make it in time. 

-

You tried to catch your breath as your head rested against your steering wheel in the parking lot of your apartment building. Thankfully, you made it out of the road before Thor made his way in. You were on the verge of freaking out, but you took a deep breath and held it till your head cleared. You mechanically exited your car and went up to your apartment. You made your way to your room, and took off your clothes. You stepped into the shower, letting the water run down your body steaming hot, the steam lending some peace to the growing aches in your bones. 

When you were done, you turned off the water and trudged to your bed, noting the time. It was almost 2 am. You collapsed on the mattress and hoped that sleep would come soon.


	11. Chapter 11

You awoke to your phone blaring in your ear where you left it on your mattress. You groaned and tried to blink the sleep from your eyes. The sun was streaming through your curtains and you squinted at the clock, the numbers blurry. You'd slept for almost twelve hours straight. It was surprising considering you hadn't had a good night's sleep like that in years and as much as you hated whoever was calling now for interrupting your rest, you figured it was better if you got up. 

You picked up the phone and furrowed your brows at the unrecognisable number. You swiped to answer and muttered a short greeting.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Ms. Y/l/n?" 

"Yes?"

"This is Ms.Hart from IA. I'm calling to inform you that we'll be coming to your apartment today for an interview."

"Wait..what?" You remember Tony telling you they would be in touch, but this would ruin your and Loki's plans. 

"We've been trying to reach you all day, Ms.Y/l/n. We need your full cooperation for this investigation to continue smoothly. Now, we'll be there within the hour unless of course you have other business?"

Her accusatory tone had you scoffing. 

"No, I don't. Why can't I come down to the office?"

"We feel it would be best if you're in a more comfortable environment for this. We like to keep things on the down low. Less exposure is better for everyone."

"Yeah, because nothing says privacy like two suits pounding on your door." You could practically hear her eyes roll through the phone. 

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes, "Does it have to be today? I'm not really in a good headspace and I-"

"Look, Ms. Y/l/n. We sent you an email yesterday on what to expect. You can't reschedule this type of thing. If you're not prepared that's not our fault. We'll be there in 45 minutes. I suggest you prepare your badge and gun for collection."

You held your nose bridge and sighed, "Ok. Fine."

"And Ms.Y/l/n?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't take this lightly. We're not coming to decide whether or not you're guilty. We're coming to prove it. I'll see you soon."

You jerked your head away from the phone and furrowed your brows as she ended the call. Funny how things are when you're on the other side of things. She was just trying to do her job. If you had to make that call and the person acted like you did, you'd be annoyed too. She said they sent an email, and you opened it up on your phone. Sure enough it was there. You'd been so out of sorts earlier yesterday that you didn't bother to check it.

You fell back on your bed and stared at the ceiling. What were you going to do? They would take your badge and gun. Even though it would hurt to give it up as it was a symbol of most of what you were, you didn't mind relinquishing your badge. The gun on the other hand. You needed it for the night, in case anything went wrong. But how were you getting out of it? 

There was one simple answer and that was to miss the meeting. They were coming to your apartment. That means you had time to leave. It wasn't going to look good on your part. So far, you seemed incompetent and stubborn. The latter being an everyday trait. You were guilty if you stayed and even more guilty if you left. They made up their minds a long time ago about you. There was nothing to lose. You cared more about bringing the hammer down on Thor's illicit operation anyway. You just had to hold out till the night. Maybe hole up somewhere just outside of the city. Definitely not the lakehouse, that was out of the question. Maybe a 24 hour coffee shop or,something. You would bounce around from place to place till it was time.

You jumped up from your bed and started packing, running through your apartment, grabbing anything you would need. A couple of protein bars, clothes, phone, laptop, water, flashlight, handcuffs, gun. Then, you took a quick shower and changed into comfortable dark clothes. Yep. You were going to actively bypass a federal interrogation. You were so far removed from who you were before, but it didn't matter. It was going to be worth it. You took out your badge from where it sat at the bottom of your sock drawer and ran your finger over the golden symbol. You grabbed a piece of paper from your desk and quickly scribbled two words before leaving it under your badge on the coffee table. You grabbed your bag and left your apartment, heading straight for your car. 

* * *

You got out of your apartment in record time, making sure that your neighbours weren't around just in case IA decided to knock on their doors and question them on how long ago you left. You drove to the other side of the city, taking temporary residence in a coffee shop about a few miles away from the park where the entrance to the sewer was. You were glad it was far away from your apartment. You knew that once they got there they would be looking for you. You checked the time. They would be knocking on your door right about now. 

As you sipped your coffee, your phone rang. Sure enough it was the same number. You let it play out, muting the volume to maintain the atmosphere of the coffee shop. A series of texts came through and you peeked st the words.

\- Ms.Y/l/n, we're here. Please answer the door or answer my call.

\- If you're home, please let us in. 

\- I'm going to be forced to take drastic measures if you do this. 

At that last message, you shut your phone off, knowing that if you saw anymore or listened to your phone buzzing any longer, you would feel compelled to answer. You returned to your coffee and pulled out your laptop, putting in your earphones and starting up some chick flick. You only hoped the time would pass quickly.

-

Back on the other side of the city, Ms.Hart clutched the approved search warrant for your apartment she obtained as she marched toward your door, her partner, Charlie and the building super, Mark, in tow. Mark sighed as he walked up to your door and inserted the key into the lock.

"What did you say you were here for again?" He scratched his round belly under his plaid shirt as he looked at the two officers through hooded eyes.

"We're looking into a case against Ms.Y/l/n. We have reason to believe she fled the premises and we have grounds to search her apartment. Do you remember seeing her at all within the past couple of hours, sir?"

"Uh...no. I' been sleepin' for the better part o' the day. You know what it's like havin' these tenants calling you all hours of the night to kill some spider or because they think they saw a clown in their window? Some of it's hilarious but for the-"

"Sir, if you could just open the door and let us in, we'd really appreciate it."

Mark raised his eyebrows and sighed, "Alright." 

He opened the door and ushered them in, "You're wastin' your time. Y/n's a good kid. Whatever it is you think she did, I'm sure you made a mistake."

Before Ms.Hart could get another word in, Mark disappeared down the hallway. She turned back into the apartment to see Charlie looking at her from where he stood in the living room, eyes wide and lips set in a thin line.

"You should see this." He turned his eyes to the coffee table where a police badge sat on top of a piece of paper, she pulled it out and read the two words written across it.

_Take it._

Her hand dropped to her side and she looked at Charlie, wondering where the hell you ran off to. 

-

It was 5:22 PM. Still about 7 hours left to go. When you felt like you overstayed your welcome in the coffee shop, you left and headed to the art museum across the street. You wandered around the hallways for a couple of hours and when the colours and lights became too much, you left. You spent most of the time replaying everything Loki told you in your head anyway, and the minutes had passed like a freight train. You kicked the rock in your pathway as you wandered down the sidewalk, wondering what else to do with your time. The anticipation was killing you and now your stomach was angry at you for not feeding it anything substantial for the day. You walked into the first restaurant you saw, deciding to actually eat something. 

After filling your stomach with carbs galore, it was a little under three hours to go time, and you decided to start your drive to the park. You parked in an alleyway opposite the area and scanned the surroundings. It was a more quiet part of the city and there were only a couple pedestrians about. The main area was open to the public, but the area with the water source where the drainage pipe lay, was closed off. You had to get a closer look and figure out the best way to get in. You also had to keep track of any security guards that might be around. You exited your car, pocketing your phone, gun, flashlight and cuffs and crossed the street. You strolled along the sidewalk just on the perimeter of the park, bordered by lampposts.

From what you saw, the small lake was near the far end of the park and it was secured by an iron gate. There were two security guards who left the booth they shared, periodically walking to and fro along the gate. You had to find a weak spot. The gate was way too high to climb over and the bars ran straight down. There was no footing except for the top rail. But even that was out of reach. You entered the park and walked along the pathway, studying the gated area. You noted that there was a line of trees, right along the right side of the area. If you were somehow able to climb one of the trees and hoist yourself over the gate, you figured you could make it in. 

You sat on one of the benches on the side, keeping an eye on the guards. You pulled out your phone and put it back on. You ignored the 4 missed calls and unanswered messages and checked the time. Two hours to go. 

You spent a while just studying the pattern of the guards, who mostly lounged about for a while before returning to the common booth at the front of the gated area. You waited for the one currently walking about to return to the booth. When he finally closed the door behind him, you hurried to the back of the area along the treeline. You shrugged off your jacket and wrapped it around the tree about a metre high, holding it firm. You positioned your right foot on a small stump in the sturdy bark and pushed off, letting go of your jacket with tour left hand and grabbing onto the lowest branch. You propelled your body weight off the bark and hung on the branch, hanging your jacket onto it as well. You reached for another branch, slightly higher than the other, grunting as you latched on. You needed to get higher to pass the top of the gate. 

You lifted your right hand off the branch and wrapped your arm around it instead, doing the same with the other hand. You brought your leg up on the branch just below it and hoisted yourself onto the limb. When you got your balance, you straddled the branch and leaned back against the bark. You took a minute to catch your breath. A slight chuckle escaped your lips at the absurdity of the situation. You were breaking into a park. To catch a thief, who wanted to be caught because his cop brother was behind the whole thing and he wanted to bring him down. It was kinda funny.

You shook your head and grabbed your jacket, preparing to throw it over the top of the iron gate which was now in reach. Just as you were about to release your jacket, a guard appeared around the corner and you pulled it back, pressing your back against the branch and bringing your legs up. The guard whistled as he walked, traipsing along the clearing. You held your breath, praying he wouldn't see you as he walked just under the tree you were perched in, sweat dripping down your forehead and you bit your lip. Thankfully, he walked straight past and continued on, not bothering to make the walk around the small lake before returing to the booth. You closed your eyes and then carefully laid your jacket on the sharp iron pickets and twisted your body to put one foot on the top rail. You did the same with the other foot, still holding onto the branch. You counted to three, then let one hand go, positioning it on the rail next to your foot. Once you got a proper hold, you lowered your legs toward the ground and hung onto the rail with your other hand. It was about a 2 meter drop to the ground. You closed your eyes and clutched your jacket. You took a deep breath and then let go, safely dropping to the floor.

You put your jacket back on and turned to the lake. There was very little light illuminating the pathway, straming from the lampposts that stood near the guard booth. You were able to make out the faint outline of the sewer drain on the other end and you kept to the shadows of the surrounding trees and bushes as you made your way to it, taking long, slow strides to avoid the rocks and patches of mud.

When you finally made it to the pipe, you rolled up your pant legs and maneuvered down the gentle slope and into the water. You propped yourself up on your hands on the base of the pipe and lifted your body into the entrance. You took a look around the lake before you went in. The only sounds to be heard were low croaks and chirping crickets. When you turned back to the sewer, only then did you know what it was like to be shrouded in complete darkness. Your heart hammered wildly in your chest as you put your flashlight on. The sewer's entrance was angled in such a way, that the security guards wouldn't see the beam emerging from your flashlight. 

You expected to step in shallow water, but it was completely dry. You shined the light around the curve of the pipe. It was solid concrete, smooth all around. The light beam was only enough to light up just a few meters in front of you, and everytime you passed though another section, you breathed a sigh of relief. There was something about the dark that dredged up the worst of your imaginations. It was worse when your mind concocted all the possible terrors that lay in wait for you in the black tunnel ahead. But you willed yourself to be brave. You had a job to do and you made a promise.

It was a straight walk so far, nothing but darkness and the occasional rustling of the few rats that took up residence there. You walked for about 20 minutes, with the slow pace you carried, till you came up on a junction. You shined the light through both. Loki told you to take a left when you met the junction, and take another left in that direction. He said the other path led to another vault. One they already hit. But you were curious. You decided to veer right and continued your slow walk deeper into the sewer. You felt like you were walking for hours till you came up on what looked like discarded planks at the base of the drain.

You stepped in a little further and the sewer split again, but the top of the drain caught your eye in the right pathway. There were a few angular markings in the ceiling, and the smooth concrete was replaced with some material, darker than the colour of surrounding concrete. You couldn't reach it to feel along it, but as you shined the flashlight on the area, you could see clear signs of shoddy patch work. The texture looked to be rougher than the rest of the ceiling, and it definitely stood out amongst the length of the tunnel.

There was your answer. They must have prepared for months before they executed their plan. Chipping away just enough to produce a body sized hole in the concrete, and then continue to chisel until they came up on the steel the vault was made of. Loki made it seem like they had the machinery at their disposal. With the money they already had, they were able to invest in whatever they needed to execute the process. From there, all they had to do was drill into the base of the vault, and they had access to the money inside. Now you knew why there was no sign of anyone entering the vault. They must have been able to remove a sizable chunk of the floor and replace it perfect, filling the area up again to hide the entrance they made. But it did damage the integrity of the sound dampening panels, hence the echo you heard at Beacon Credit Union. They tried to make it imperceptible to the rest of the vault's floor, but when it came to repairing the sewer, they obviously couldn't care less about the look of that. No one was coming down here anyway. 

You took a few pictures of the markings and the patch in the concrete, then you decided to walk back to where you came from, and take a left at the junction, just like Loki told you. As you took a few steps in the other pathway, a shrill ring cut through the silence of the sewer tunnel. It bounced off the walls and sent a chill through your veins, freezing you in place. It emanated from behind you, the path leading to the entrance of the sewer. The ringing stopped and was relaxed by a muffled voice, becoming more clear as whoever it was got closer. You took off your flashlight and waited with bated breath in complete darkness. You knew they weren't close enough to see your light, since you didn't see any light of theirs.

You felt around the wall and was able to reach the point of the junction. You could hear their footsteps now. It had to be Loki, right? But you couldn't take any chances. You had to be careful. You thought about your best course of action. Loki would know how to get to the vault. Anyone else, would have no idea what they were doing. You made up your mind and put on your flashlight again, throwing it further into the part of the sewer you were in previously and moving further down the one that would take you to the vault. 

At the sharp, clear clatter of your flashlight bouncing against the wall and falling to the floor, the footsteps suddenly stopped. You held your breath and placed a hand on your gun, preparing for the worst. It was completely quiet for a beat, until the sound of feet sprinting across the tunnel floor echoed through. The sound disappeared into the other pathway, and a flash of faint light lit up the wall opposite to where you stood. You sighed in relief and turned back to the tunnel. You put your phone flashlight on and although the light it lent was little, it was just enough for you to keep track of where you stepped. 

You kept your hands along the walls as you moved forward, coming up on another junction and feeling your way to the left again. Your foot brushed along something as you walked in the faint light, and you heard a squeak, a dozen glowing eyes turning on you before little feet scampered across your shoes. You shined a light on the group of rats as they hurried along in the way you came from. Your heart raced in your chest and you swallowed the lump in your throat. You weren't a fan of rats, but there was some comfort in knowing you weren't the only one down here. There was a stranger on the other side and you didn't wish to come toe to toe with that face in the darkness.

Your eyes picked up a light, emerging from around the corner up ahead. There was no intersection here, the path ran only to the right. You took cautious steps toward the corner and pocketed your phone. You put your back against the wall, and looked around it to see none other than Loki, hammering away at what looked like makeshift beams holding up an area of the ceiling that extended about a foot into the concrete. At his feet were some odd looking metal boxes, one attached to a laptop and you assumed that was the tech used to disable the alarms and cameras. You lowered your gun and relief flooded your chest at the sight of him. You walked forward, chest heaving. He looked your way and his eyes locked on yours. His face was drained of all colour and he shook his head at you slightly, mouthing something.

You made out what he was saying, "Don't."

You furrowed your brows and he shook his head again, looking off to the side which was out of your line of sight.

You were confused. He asked you to come down here, and now he's telling you to leave. The way he kept looking off to the side as he continued what he was doing, alluded to another presence in the tunnel. His eyes pleaded with you to leave. If you came any closer, you would come face to face with something you weren't prepared for. He continued his work, trying to remove the beams but he looked to you again. His nostrils flared as he glowered at you, willing you to turn back and you retaliated by taking another step forward. That look in your eyes told him everything he needed to know. You were going to do whatever you wanted anyway. 

You rounded the corner fully and the lamp sat at Loki's feet casted three shadows across the walls. You turned to your left and your eyes fell on..

"Thor?" You hands lowered of their own volition as you faced him where he sat. Sipping a can of root beer on the floor of the tunnel, just in front of the entrance to another pathway. He sprung to his feet.

"Y/n..." he whispered.

"What...what are you doing here?" He looked like the same guy that smiled at you, told jokes, brought you coffee. All the things Loki had confessed in that lakehouse seemed to leave your mind when you looked at him. He was just Thor. But you wanted him to prove you wrong. You wanted him to tell you who he really was. You wanted him to tell you he started all of this. He had to say it. 

"The same as you. I'm here to catch a criminal." He chuckled and your eyebrows knit together, fighting yourself. You kept your gun on him and you eyed Loki, who had stepped down from the ladder and rested his weight against the wall. He looked exhaustsd. His sunken eyes, his sweat drenched shirt and his shaky hands proved how tired he was.

"Mind not pointing that thing at me?" 

You turned back to Thor, who had his hands up defensively. You lowered your gun again and swallowed the lump in your throat. 

"How did you get down here? How did you _know_ to come down here?" You brought back all the things you couldn't see before about him to the front of your mind. The questions flooded in as you started to wonder how long it would take to back him into a corner and get him to finally admit the truth. 

He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, "Caught wind of him when I was on a call. Followed him down here."

"And you're just sitting around while he tries to rob another bank?"

Thor looked down and chuckled, "I was trying to talk to him. See if he'll surrender. I just wanted things to go smoothly."

You looked at the root beer can on the floor, "Talking it through over a few drinks I see." 

He took a step toward you and you raised your gun. He put his hands up again.

"Y/n...you-you think I'm lying or something?"

"I don't know, Thor you tell me." 

Then...he just looked at you. And looked at you. Then he was looking to the floor, golden locks falling over his face. A dark chuckle left his lips and you tightened your grip on your gun.

Loki's eyes met yours, "Y/n. Please. Just go."

He was desperate, begging you to run far away from here. But you held your ground. You weren't leaving him.

"You should listen to your boyfriend, Y/n." When Thor looked back up, there was an emptiness in his eyes you hadn't noticed before.

"You really think I didn't figure out what you two were planning? 'Want to do this one on my own..." he looked at Loki and scoffed, "Bullsh*t."

While his focus was on his brother, you reached for your phone in your back pocket and pressed a button. 

"I know he left you that clue, I know he took you to the lakehouse and I know he told you everything. There's a little something called a listening device that we cops get to use. But of course, you wouldn't know that what with you being suspended and all."

You clenched your jaw and bit the inside of your cheek.

"From the moment you left that calling card, I knew you wanted to blow this whole thing up. You wanted them to know it was you robbing the banks, right? Make it easier for them to catch you? Well you screwed up! Because I know every step you make, Loki. You can't get away from me. And you," he turned to you and pointed in your face.

"I knew you were going to be trouble. Strutting into the precinct like you owned the damn place. Solving case after case with that smug look on your face showing up everyone else...I enjoyed framing you for those pictures."

"Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did, but this has to stop, Thor. Forcing your brother to rob those banks, threatening him...you have all the money in the world why couldn't you leave him out of it?"

"He's right where he belongs. _Beneath_ me. You know how much money it takes to keep a drug operation like Thanos and I built running while covering our tracks? A sh*t ton. Of course I'm going to take advantage of the free labour. And he's my brother. Guess I just wanted to keep him close." He bared his teeth in a grin and you shook your head. 

"You're not getting away with this..."

"Oh I think I will." 

Footsteps sounded from behind you and you turned your head to the sound.

"No. Please, stop! Help!" Thor shouted. You turned back to him and he was on his knees, hands behind his head and mouth set in a frown.

You furrowed your brows and felt something cold touch the back of your scalp. Loki's eyes widened and his breath quickened at the sight of the person behind you.

"Y/n. Drop it. Now." 

"Bucky?"

"Drop the gun, and kick it away," he demanded.

"No, you don't understand, Thor is-"

He cocked his gun and you shut your mouth. You lowered yourself to the floor and put your gun down, kicking it in front of you. It hit the lamp and stilled.

"Thank, God you're here." Thor directed at Bucky, before getting up.

"How'd you get down here?" Bucky asked Thor. You heard something jingle before feeling cool metal latch around your wrist, followed by the other. He cuffed you.

"I was tailing her and I followed her down here. Didn't expect to see this," he motioned around him. 

Bucky looked at Loki, "You, on your knees hand behind your head."

Loki looked at, eyes glassy as he complied. You tried to convey how sorry you were with your eyes, and he smiled sadly at you. 

Bucky looked back at Thor, "Tailing her? When Steve got the call she skipped out on her interview at the station, I checked security cameras through the city. I kept an eye on her, saw where she was going. When she started driving out here, I got in my car and did the same. Saw her sneak into the park. The only person Steve told about that call was me."

"I caught sight of her on my lunch break. Started following her then."

You rolled your eyes and sighed, hoping Bucky wouldn't believe that crap.

"So you just decided to follow her for no reason?"

"Didn't you get one of the uniformed officers to play undercover and stalk her at the library?"

So that guy at the library _was_ familiar. Just how many people had followed you without you knowing? Were you so wrapped up in your own head that you failed to notice the signs? Maybe you weren't such a good detective... 

"I had reason to do that. The same month she showed up, the robberies started. I didn't think that was a coincidence, especially not after I dug more into her background."

Your eyes widened at that. If Bucky found what you think he did, then he would have every reason to believe you were involved with the robberies. 

"Then everything with the pictures, trying to lead us in the wrong direction... I knew something was wrong. But you," Bucky continued.

"You had no reason to be suspicious of her. You only knew she faked those photos and that's it. Steve is the only one I went to about my theory."

"I had my own theory." Thor answered.

You still couldn't see Bucky, as he was still positioned behind you.

But you turned your head a little and tried to convince him of the truth, "He's lying. He's behind all of this. Loki came to me and told me he threatened him into this. He didn't leave those cards to taunt us, he wanted us to know he was the one behind the robberies. He left a message on them not to trust Thor and he's right. The only reason I fled my apartment, was because I needed my gun for tonight. I couldn't let them take it. He told me to meet him down here and take the chance to bring him in, Thor wasn't supposed to be here. Loki was ready to surrender and tell you everything. Please, Bucky. I'm telling you the truth."

Thor glared at you and Bucky took a deep breath, raising his gun again, eyes shifting between the two of you.

Thor looked at him and chuckled, "Seriously? Don't tell me you believe a word of what she says."

"I'm gonna call this in, and we'll all go down to the precinct and figure this out there-"

"No, you need to arrest both of them and put a bullet in him for what he did!"

Thor moved toward Bucky who pointed his gun at him, "Thor. I need you to step back."

Thor chuckled and shook his head, "Really? I'm not the criminal here!"

"Step back!" Bucky shouted, stare unwavering. 

Thor turned around and crouched down by the ladder, running his hands in his hair before resting them on his knees. After a few seconds he put his hands in his pockets.

He stood up again and turned back to Bucky, who still had his gun fixed on the blonde. 

"You know what. You're right. Call it in." 

Bucky lowered his gun and reached for his radio, just as he was about to announce a message into the receiver, a loud bang sounded through the tunnel, hitting your ear like an explosion. You felt something wet hit your face. You blinked and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Thor was holding your gun, wiping his prints off with his jacket. Loki's chest was heaving and his eyes were fixed to the side of you. 

You turned your head and a blood curdling scream left your throat, "Bucky!"

You scooted as best as you could closer to him and fought against the handcuffs, praying that by some miracle they would come loose. Blood gushed from his chest, colouring the shirt he wore red. Tears filled your eyes as he started choking on his blood, the thick liquid filling up his mouth and spilling over onto the floor. You pushed your shoulder into his right side, putting in all your effort to get him on his side. It was hard ro stabilise him, the metal arm you hadn't really paid attention to till now, since he always covered it up with sleeves or a glove, proved difficult to shift his weight around. 

You were fully crying now, muttering assurances to him, "You're gonna be okay, Buck. Just hold on...you'll be ok." His dilated pupils fixated on yours and your body racked with sobs. Loki rushed to your side, coming out of his stupor and he extended Bucky's metal arm out to the side. He was able to turn him fully on the side now, preventing him from choking any longer. You felt Thor come up behind you and put the gun in your hands, curling your fingers around the handle. He left it to fall to the floor and pushed you aside, holding down Bucky's radio. 

"Officer down! Officer down!" He gave the location and started a summary of the situation, pulling out his own gun and firing a few shots at the wall adjacent to where he crouched. He spouted a false scenario into the radio but you couldn't care less about that right now as you looked at Bucky, who was struggling to catch his breath. You heard a few quickened footsteps sounding through the tunnel. The gunshot had alerted the guards, who were now running toward you. You saw two beams of light coming closer and Loki pulled you to your feet.

"Y/n, we need to go."

You looked back at Bucky and tears ran down your cheeks. You couldn't believe what was happening. Loki tugged on your shoulder and you reluctantly followed him into the left pathway of the tunnel. Loki looped an arm around yours as he sprinted through curve after curve, taking a right, then a left and running straight down the tunnel. He came to a door and picked at the lock. It opened and he pulled you through. He closed it back shut and continued down the tunnel, making various turns before stopping and turning to face you.

"I hollowed this out in case of emergencies. I'll go first and lift you out after. But you need to work with me alright?"

He held both sides of your face in his hands and looked into your eyes. Your vision was blurry from the tears but you nodded.

You turned and noticed what he was taking about. In the curved concrete wall, there was a jagged but sizable hole. Loki put one foot through to the other side, and ducked his head as he pushed himself out. He opened his arms to you and you put one foot out of the hole. His hands found your waist and he held your firmly as you ducked your head through and pulled your other leg out. You both fell gently onto something that sloshed. You looked down and it was...sand? You looked up and the night sky extended straight ahead of you, above glittering water that crashed softly against where you fell. You were on the beach. Loki got up and dusted himself and you off, helping you up and urging you to keep up with him as he walked along the shore. 

You looked back at the hole you just came from, the image of Bucky, choking on his blood, eyes almost lifeless on that cold floor was still fresh in your mind. You peeled your eyes away and turned back to the front. The water was to your right, and to the left was a giant concrete wall with a railing at the top. Laughter, light and various pops and whirls of the machines at the various booths came from above. Loki lead you around a part of the wall that jutted into the water and when you got to the other side, the boardwalk came into view. Just a couple hundred feet more up a slope and you made it to the few steps that lead to the wooden deck. 

He helped you over to one of the changing stations a little further down and picked the lock, helping you inside. Once there, he closed the door and switched on the light. He sat you down on, your phone clattering to the floor as it fell from your back pocket. He turned your body a little, sitting down next to you and holding on to one of your hands. He started to work on removing the handcuffs.

"It'll be a while before they realised how we got out of there. We need to move soon. I stashed a car nearby, just on the other side of the beach, near the rental cabanas. Once we get there we'll have to move quickly."

You heard the clunk of the handcuffs falling to the floor and you cradled your wrists, one at a time as you turned to him.

"Y/n...I....I know nothing I say can take away what happened. But I am so sorry-"

You cut him off as you threw your arms around his neck, desperate for any sort of comfort. You cried into his shirt and he hesitated before he put his arms around you. It had been a long time since he's touched anyone like that. But he knew you needed it, so he tightened his hold and rested his head on yours as you bawled your eyes out.

"Shh...it's ok...you're ok. Everything is going to be alright."

They were empty promises, just like you whispered to Bucky. They were things no one could guarantee and you knew it. But you didn't care that it was all a lie. Right there, in that moment, you needed to believe it wasn't and you hoped it was enough to make Bucky hold on too.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair, staring at the lifeless body in front of him. There was a dull ringing in his ear, almost like a strange chill was buzzing throughout his body, slowly building in pressure. His foot bounced up and down on the ivory tiles and he gnawed on his fingernail, trying to ignore the incessant sound. The steady beeps of the EKG machine was in stark contrast to the wild beating of his own heart. His best friend, the man he'd known for all his life, who was there through thick and thin was lying motionless before him, kept alive only by the machines he was tethered to. 

When Steve got the alert that his best friend took a bullet to the chest, his heart stopped. He didn't care that it was 12:34 am. He didn't care that he barely got enough sleep as it was, and he definitely didn't care when the nurse told him he wasn't allowed to see Bucky yet. Tony got the call too, and sure enough he pulled whatever strings he needed to get Steve into that room. He waited hours to see his best friend. He hoped he would be awake to lend some insight into what had transpired. To give him a clear idea of just how much hell he had to raise to punish those responsible, to assure him that he was okay and he would be up and running soon enough. 

He felt like it was entirely his fault. When IA called and gave an update on the situation with Y/n, he was livid. Bucky had come to him with his suspicions two weeks back, and at first he dismissed any claims he had about the new recruit, until Thor approached him about those pictures she had stashed away and after everything that followed, he started looking at her differently. So when Bucky asked him to track her movements and find out what she was up to, he gave him the go ahead. He didn't know he was leading him into a bullet. He'd seen so much blood in his lifetime, so much agony. Although he wasn't a part of that life anymore, hearing the news about his best friend brought it all back again. The screams of his fellow soldiers, the rivers of blood, the limbs scattered about the battlefield. They started haunting him again, and every time he closed his eyes for more than a measly second, it was like he was back there in the middle of war. 

He needed Bucky to be okay. He needed him to wake up and smile at him and smack him in the shoulder and call him a punk like he used to when they were kids. He needed his friend.

Steve turned his head to the door swinging open. A young woman walked in with a clipboard pressed tightly to her chest. She gave him a small smile and glanced at Bucky. Turning back to him, she opened her mouth, ready to speak until she sighed, pausing for a moment and chuckling slightly. 

"Mr.Rogers, I'm Dr.Cho. I apologise for the wait, but there are other patients at this hospital and I hope you understand that."

"I know, I know I just..." he turned to the bed again, nostrils flaring as he saw red seeing him in that state. He should feel embarrassed, ashamed for begging Tony to pull every string he could to get him in that room with the doctor, but in the moment all he cared about was seeing Bucky alive. It was selfish, and although it left a sour taste in his mouth, he wasn't sorry for feeling that way.

"How is he? When will he wake up? How long before he's back at wor-"

"We have a long way to go before then, I'm afraid. I understand your excitement, but he suffered a traumatic pneumothorax. The bullet punctured his lung."

Steve felt like his heart had dropped and sunk into the floor.

"Wh-what do you mean it...is he gonna be ok?"

"We used a chest tube to drain most of the air, blood and fluid that collected around his heart and lungs but we're going to have to keep it there for a few days until his lung is fully reinflated."

Steve let go a sigh of relief at that, "So..so he'll wake up then, right?"

Dr.Cho's gaze shifted to the floor and she sucked in her lips. That look in her eyes...that awful look laid birth to a whole new feeling of terror in Steve's chest. 

"Mr.Barnes also suffered a traumatic head injury. The physical and lab tests as well as all the brain scans we did on him, all showed signs of significant brain injury."

Steve placed a hand over his mouth and paced the floor before stopping and turning to the doctor, "Brain injury? From a punctured lung? C'mon, doc tell me that's a mistake."

"I assume you haven't had a chance to speak to the witness. When Mr. Barnes was shot...he fell back and his head collided with the concrete. He-"

"No...no. That's a mistake. It has to be." Steve knew that Thor was the only one there to witness when Y/n shot Bucky. He would get the whole story himself. 

"Mr. Rogers...he's in a coma."

Before his legs could buckle, he slowly walked over to the chair and slumped into it. His eyes were fixed on nothing in particular and the rest of the doctor's words were muted by the ringing that returned in his ears. It didn't matter that he pushed himself to get here, it didn't matter how much he hoped for Bucky to get back up. All that mattered, all he could do was find Y/n and Loki and put a bullet in their skulls for what they did to him. 

He looked at his friend tied up to machine after machine once again, with a promise in mind. He would avenge Bucky. 

* * *

Steve heard everything he needed to know from Thor. He put out APBs for you and Loki and established a perimeter throughout the city. Thor was right there with him at every step. Steve was confused as to why he was down there in the first place when he first heard the news, but ultimately he was glad for it. If Bucky never asked Thor for help that day reigning Y/n in, then he wouldn't have been there to see Bucky get shot. He wouldn't have gotten him to the hospital in time. If it wasn't for him, Bucky would have bled out, cold and alone in the dark. Thor saved his best friend's life, and he felt like he owed him the world for it. 

He looked to the rest of his team as he laid out the plan for your and Loki's capture. He was running on pure anger now. He could feel it rising and taking form in his bones. With Thor by his side, he was sure he would get his revenge on the both of you soon enough. 

Nat folded her arms as Steve laid out all of the facts. She chewed on her red lined lower lip as she looked over the photos of you walking through the city, picked up by the security cameras. Your face was blurred, but she could make out the worry lines across your forehead. She knew that knit in your brow all too well. She'd seen it enough times before. When she knew you...or as Steve put it, thought she knew you. She didn't know what to feel. The whole thing made sense. The sequence of events were synced perfectly and everything lead to you. But maybe it was a little too convenient? She didn't know. Everything she was being told, everything she was being forced to go along with just sinked her into more confusion. You were Y/n. You shared makeup tips, you had a shared stash of goodies for when Aunt Flo decided to show up.

She told you about her life. The sh*t she had to deal with. You reminded her she was strong when those memories tried to rear their ugly heads when she was working on a case that hit close to home. You reminded her she was in control, that she pulled through then and she would pull through now. Was that all a lie? If she was being honest, there was a piece pf her that believed what Steve and Thor were telling her. In the past couple of weeks, you were acting strangely. You barely called, you blew off her invitations to hang out. You were like a ghost. Floating around the precinct, barely there. You were stuck in your head most of the time and she couldn't help but wonder if that was because you were in cahoots with the man they've been after for so long. She looked at Sam, who seemed just as lost as she was. 

Sam rubbed his beard thoughtfully, not knowing what to make of it all. You and him were cool, right from the start. You laughed at his jokes, even the bad ones. You brought him those peanut butter, blueberry, bacon muffins from that bakery he loved when a case took you to the area, even though you called them an abomination in the history of baked goods. You listened to his crazy cop stories and you comforted him through the bad ones. You kept him grounded when he thought he saw Riley walking the halls, or smiling at him in the squad car. How can you be that girl, and this one all at the same time? How could you smile and joke around all while plotting behind their backs? There was evidence. Cold, hard facts incriminating you right alongside Loki.

They found evidence in your car with plans of the vaults. The entryway through the sewers. They even found a bag full of stolen bank notes from the first heist. Bucky was shot by a bullet from your gun, a gun that had your fingerprints all over it. Everything pointed to you. Even their captain, Tony was gutted when he heard the news. He couldn't believe that the person he was so eager to hire, the person he thought was promising talent could do something like that. He kept blaming himself for it, after all he was the captain and he didn't see it. He just launched himself into workmode and and went straight to the commissioner to request a special task force for your capture. Sam began to think that maybe Steve was right. Maybe you were the big bad wolf in sheep's clothing, and you pulled the wool over their eyes and played them like fools. But there was a nagging in his head, eating away at the _truth_ and casting a looming shadow of doubt. What if they were wrong? What if something else was at play here? But even if there was another side to it, how would he figure it out.

"Sam, are you listening to me?" Steve snapped.

Thor stood silently in the corner of the room, watching Sam stumble over his response. 

"Uh...sorry. Sorry, man. Say that again?" 

Steve shook his head and folded his arms, "She put a bullet in Bucky's chest. She put him in a coma. She stole millions of dollars from all those people and she defiled the name of the law. That enough to make you pay attention, Wilson? Or should I remind you what happened last time you let your guard down?"

"Steve that's enough-" Nat tried to plead with him.

"No! No, it's not! We can't let her get away with this! She has to pay for what she's done."

The look in his eyes was frightening, and Sam jerked back a little from the force and volume of his voice.

Thor bit the inside of his cheek and mustered all the hatred he harboured for his brother into his voice, "She's not the only one that has to pay."

Nat looked at Thor and nodded, "He's right, Steve. She didn't....she didn't do all of this on her own. Loki's just as guilty."

"You can't just forget the guy we've been trying to catch for months, Steve." The anger Steve felt toward you was scary, and Sam hoped he would calm down and try to see reason before he did something stupid. Maybe, the more he could get him to remember all the work they've put in to apprehend Loki, the less he would be so fixated on you. This whole mess needed to be dealt with, with a clear head. With the way Steve was acting, Sam wasn't sure he wasn't completely cuckoo at the moment. 

Steve flared his nostrils, looking at the floor and taking in their words. They were right. It wasn't just you he needed to focus on. Loki would face his wrath too.

"You guys are right. We need to keep both on our radar. Sam, I'm sorry I just...seeing Bucky like that it..."

"No, I get it. One of our own got hurt. I feel it too, man. But if we're gonna get to the bottom of this, we have to work together. For Bucky." Sam nodded as he said it. A newfound strength and resolve rising in his chest.

Natasha nodded and looked to Thor, who did the same.

They all looked to Steve and he smiled, "For Bucky."


	13. Chapter 13

You woke up to the sound of an old country song on the radio. The singer's rough yet melodic voice rang out among the guitar strings, lamenting a lost love. You blinked slowly, the view of the outside world coming into focus as the scene shifted. Acres of flatland stretched out on either side of the road. The tips of the grass began to turn the shade of the late evening sun and it reminded you of simpler times. 

"You're awake." You turned to the voice beside you. In the driver's seat, Loki sat with a small smile on his lips. He pulled his eyes away from the road for a couple of seconds to look you over. You shifted and cleared your throat, removing your jacket, which was laid across your chest, and placing it in the backseat.

You eyed Loki, wondering if he draped the item over you in a bid to keep you warm from the chilly evening air, or if you curled up in it yourself, using it as a makeshift blanket. You knew you still had to keep your guard up around him, and the idea of him touching you in your sleep made your blood boil just a little. But if he had any thoughts to harm you, wouldn't he tie you up by now and throw you in the trunk? You held your temple and willed yourself to calm down. Like everytime you were in the middle of something, your mind was going into hypermode. 

"How long have I been out?" You yawned and rested your head back on the seat, throat a bit scratchy and grating as you spoke. 

"A few hours. Thirsty?" He pulled out a bottle of water from the cupholder and handed it to you. 

"Thanks." You took a sip, which turned into a gulp, then you were full on downing it, the dryness in your throat subsiding.

Loki's eyes crinkled at your eagerness. The excitement in your eyes was somewhat endearing.

"Might want to hold back a bit. I'm not sure when we'll be able to get more supplies. We have a limited amount of food and water."

Oh. Right. Because you were basically a fugitive. The last thing you remembered was Thor shooting Bucky, then Loki pulling you away with him and taking you to the beach in that changing room where you....ugh. Had you really broken down in front of him like that? Puffy eyes and snotty nose in what was possibly the ugliest cry of your life? Even after all he shared with you that night at the lakehouse, and what you went through together, you hated the idea of being so broken and vulnerable in front of him. But you couldn't really hold it together in that moment, could you? It was still so fresh in your mind. Bucky's wide pupils full of sheer terror as he choked on his blood. You didn't even know if he made it out of there...if he was still alive...

You knew Thor was a conniving, two-faced, double a*shole, who was in for a beating the next time you saw him, but you hoped there was an ounce of charity in his heart, enough to get Bucky help. Enough to keep him alive. But he was the one that shot him in the first place. If he could stand there and do that without flinching then...you didn't want to think about it. You felt even worse when you realised that everyone would think _you_ shot him. Somewhere along the way, you'd taken a detour and ended up falling face first in sh*t's creek, but you didn't have a boat or a paddle or anything to pull you out of the mess. You felt like you were drowning and there was no way to surface.

But you did this. You were to blame. If you didn't allow Thor to manipulate you so easily, if you just stayed to yourself like you always did before then maybe things would be different. You thought taking a chance and opening yourself to the blonde would be good for you, when really it ruined everything. It might as well have been you that shot Bucky, you were the reason he was down there in the first place. 

"Hey."

You turned to Loki. His forehead was creased with worry lines and his blue eyes searched yours intensely. There was an empty look in your eyes. He'd seen it before. Back at the lakehouse and in the sewer. 

"Don't do that."

You furrowed your brows at him, "Do what?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. This is _not_ on you."

You sighed and closed your eyes, "You can say that all you want but it doesn't make it true."

"It is. If you're going to blame someone, blame me. I just wanted all of this to be over with. But I only made it worse." 

"Loki, you're the _victim_ here. You can't blame yourself for something your brother did."

"And that's what I'm trying to tell _you_."

You folded your arms and huffed. 

"I take it you're not a fan of someone using your words against you?"

"Not when they have a stupid, smug smirk on their face."

"I'll have you know that stupid, smug smirk has charmed many women."

You looked at him pointedly, raising your eyebrows in a silent, _"Really?"_

He swallowed and shrugged his shoulders, "Well...not _many_ women but..."

" _Shocker_ ," you mocked.

He chuckled before focusing on the wide empty road again, "Truthfully...it's been a long time. As you know, my life isn't...wasn't exactly the kind that opened up many doors for me...especially in the love department."

Loki thought back to Clara for a moment, her eyes, her laugh, before he tightened his grip on the wheel and willed her out of his mind. 

You felt bad for joking around about it as you nodded. For a second you'd forgotten about what he went through. How much he lost, how much was taken from him.

"Well, you're not the only one who's missed out on a life of hot, steamy romance. Except in my case, that's on me."

You hoped it was worth something, letting him know he wasn't alone. You lead two completely different lives, but you had something in common. Well, three when you count being on the run from the police and a maniacal drug dealer hellbent on destroying you both..

Loki looked at you, "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean. I never really thought about it."

"Oh, come on. You don't expect me to believe that do you? I happened to notice the grocery store romance novels on your shelf in your apartment, you know."

"You mean when you broke in?" 

"Once again, I'm really sorry about that." It was genuine and you sighed. You were still peeved about it, but ultimately you understood why he did it. 

"I know...and I only own like 2 of those books okay? They seemed...interesting."

"Oh I'm sure. Big hulking guy with gleaming muscles and a smouldering set of lips. _Very_ interesting."

"Shut up." You rolled your eyes as he chuckled and shook your head.

"Maybe, once upon a time, I dreamed of falling in love and riding off into the sunset with Prince Charming or Superman or whatever, but it was never really a priority for me. There were things in my life that I wanted to do. Things I felt like I _had_ to do. Being a detective was...it was everything to me. When I first walked into that bullpen I felt...almost complete. Like everything had fallen into place. But, what's the point of following the rules and doing things by the book when you get burned anyway? I just feel like, everything I prided myself on, everything I believed was all for nothing."

You hadn't realised exactly how you felt about the whole ordeal until it poured out of you like a sinner at confession. The conversation had shifted from your lack of a love life and revealed the lack of hope building within your heart. Nothing really mattered anymore. 

"I used to take a lot of shortcuts. There was a this trail that took me all the way from our backyard straight to school. My mom used to wake us up super early to catch the bus. Naturally as a growing teenage boy, I hated it."

You were a little confused by what he was saying, but you listened anyway, propping your head up against the window and looking at him.

"Until one day, Thor found the trail. It passed through this creek. There was this rickety old bridge and everytime we crossed it we were relieved. It shook and buckled under the constant pressure each day but, it held up. We thought it meant the end of screeching alarm clocks and mom's yelling. Then, my foot caught in one of the broken boards and I fell. I felt this sharp pain rip through my leg from the splinters digging into my knee and ankle. The bridge started shaking so violently. The supports cracked and sent this sharp snap through the air. I remember Thor turning back and grabbing onto me as I held on for dear life. Even when the wood started disappearing into the water behind me, Thor didn't let go. When the plank right under me broke, I managed to pull my leg free and Thor pulled me onto the bank. We just sat there, panting, watching the broken, splintered planks float away in the current."

His eyes were glassy, a few tears trailing along his cheek as he smiled. You were gripping the edge of your seat now, your heart beating wildly in your chest as you waited for him to continue. He wiped the tears away and chuckled softly, 

"I'll never forget that day. It was the day I realised that sometimes to get where you want, you have to do it the right way. There has to be a point to it. That's what living is all about. It took me a while to get there but I realised, if you don't stand by what you believe in, if you don't pick yourself up and declare to the whole world that you're moving forward, even when they're all against you, then you might as well fall. Yeah, sometimes you get knocked down anyway, but it makes all the difference when you have that strength within yourself to get back up." 

He turned to you, eyes boring into yours, mouth set in a determined line, " _You_ have that strength, Y/n. You can pick yourself up, and dust yourself off and keep going. _You_ were the one that gave that strength, that hope back to me."

He lifted his right hand off the wheel and covered your stiff hand, still gripping the seat, with his.

"You're on the right side of this and it _means_ something. It means _everything_."

You bit your lip and looked down at where his hand gently caressed yours, thinking back to the day you decided to help him. In the beginning, it seemed like nothing to you. You were simply doing your job. But to him, it really did mean everything. Putting your heart in the right place, and lending comfort and compassion to the people in this world who desperately needed it, the ones who were left in the cold to wither away, the ones who were never given a chance to share their stories in hopes of one day receiving justice for the horrible things they went through...that was the very thing that drew you into becoming a detective in the first place. Well that and solving a good puzzle. But Loki was right. You needed to stand by your beliefs. You needed to hold firm and brave the tide. What good was giving up?

Your grip on the seat slowly loosened and you turned your palm to face his. He laced his fingers through yours and squeezed gently, nodding in reassurance.

Just as you were about to thank him, a loud grumble cut through the air.

You looked down and your hands flew onto your stomach. You remembered you hadn't eaten anything in a while, and your stomach seemed to claw at your insides begging you to offer it sustenance. 

Loki snickered and shrugged his shoulders, "Better feed that monster in there. I'd rather not witness what you look like when you're hangry."

"Hey I'm a delight to be around, even when I'm hangry." 

Loki pulled to the side of the road and you both exited the car. He popped open the trunk and grabbed the bag of sandwiches, protein bars and chips he had stashed away, closing the truck and plopping it onto the surface. As you opened the bag and grabbed the first thing you saw, Loki pulled out the map from his back pocket.

"Where did you say we were going again?" He questioned as he laid the map along the windscreen and trunk. 

In between bites of chips, you pointed to the destination you had in mind and he nodded. 

"Another day's drive and we should get there. Are you sure this place is...ok?"

You licked a few grains of salt from the corner of your mouth and sighed. You didn't want to lie to him, but it was your best bet.

"I guess we'll see when we get there. Now, c'mon. The faster we get there...the faster we get there," you stated as you finished up the snack and took another sip of water. 

"Can't argue with that logic," he mused.

You rolled your eyes, heading to the driver's side of the car. Loki furrowed his brows as you tugged the keys out of his hand, shoving the supply bag into his chest and moving to open the door.

"Well?" You tapped your foot impatiently on the tufts of grass below your feet. 

"This is _my_ car, _I'm_ the designated driver." He demanded. Some small part of him wanted to remain behind the wheel. It was a reminder, solid reassurance that he was free from his brother's clutches. He wanted to hold onto that for as long as he could, just in case he would never feel that way again. But you weren't having any of it. You were still a little tired even after a few hours of sleep. You could only imagine how he was feeling and you wanted him to take a break. 

"Look, you need to eat something and get some rest. I can't have you fainting all over the wheel and driving us into a ditch now can I?"

Loki closed his eyes and sighed. You were right.

"Fine." He walked over to the passenger's side and got in.

Once you were both in the car, you inserted the key and smiled, "Don't forget to buckle up." 

You winked and he groaned as you turned the key and the engine roared to life. You pulled onto the road and hit the gas as the sky darkened above you, hoping that you'd get there without hitting any bumps in the road. 


	14. Chapter 14

Loki handed the gas station attendant a few notes and walked back to the car just as you placed the bag of supplies you gathered from the small convenience store in the backseat and sat down.

"He said there's a small motel about a half hour drive from here. We'll rest up for a few hours then hit the road again."

You hummed in agreement, already dreaming of the bumpy mattress the motel had to offer. You'd been on the road for almost two full days now, and your destination was getting closer and closer. But the sleep you managed to gather while taking turns behind the wheel proved insufficient, and you both finished the sandwiches, snacks and bottles of water Loki had. The luxurious plastic sink showers at truck stops didn't help either. Your clothes started to reek as well, you were down to just a tank and one of Loki's plaid shirts and your jeans. You had to settle for whatever Loki had packed that would fit, which wasn't much when you factored in his height. But it did help. You only hoped you'd get to a mall or something soon, so you wouldn't put him out of anymore clothes. But he really didn't mind. 

When he saw the bags under your eyes, the way you winced when you turned your neck too sharply, he knew you two had to stop for a moment. You had protested, insisting you were ok but he wouldn't have it. The dark road seemed endless without any sign of life, until the rest stop came into view. It was like an oasis in an endless desert. That's when you were able to stock up with more food and water as well as some much needed toiletries and full your tank. Loki pulled out of the small lot and started on the road again.

The motel was about a mile off the left of the main road. The l-shaped building sat amongst the wide flatland, lit up by the flickering bulbs along the ceiling. The peach paint stood out amongst the dark backdrop of the rolling hills in the distance and the black sky. The moon shone high above, casting everything in a faint glow. Loki parked the car directly in front of the far end of the row of rooms and you made your way to the front office, supply bag in hand as Loki held his on his shoulder. 

He knocked on the door and you peered through the window. The lights were on inside, and you could hear the faint sound of a TV in the background, but no one was there. Before Loki could knock again, you heard a large crash, following by a string of muffled curses. The door yanked open and revealed an older woman with a cheery smile and a dress that left nothing to the imagination and smudged makeup. She looked like she just came from a night of heavy partying, even though it was only 7 o'clock and she chewed the gum in her mouth loudly. 

"Um...hello." Loki offered.

"Well _hello_ to you too. Please, come in." Her eyes trailed along Loki's form somewhat hungrily as he crossed the threshold behind you. She went back behind the desk and opened the guest book, smoothing out the pages and leaning over the counter, revealing the mounds of flesh of her chest, stuffed in the tight red dress she wore.

"Don't get many visitors this time of year. Nice to see some new faces."

She fluttered her eyelashes at Loki and grinned. An odd bubbling stirred in your stomach and you wanted to snap at her tasteless attempts at flirting. You just wanted to collapse in a bed and pass out and she was taking her sweet time checking you in.

A gruff voice sounded from the back, "Mary come back to bed!" 

"Shut up, Ralph!" She shouted, rolling her eyes and smiling again, "Nevermind that, dear."

"Um...alright, well how much for a night?" Loki asked.

"Not so fast, honey." She waved a painted finger in front of his face, "You got a name?"

She tapped her nail on the book and twisted it around, collecting a pen from behind the counter and placing it on the page, but not before smirking at Loki for the umpteenth time. You really couldn't blame her. When Loki decided he had enough of his locks falling on his shoulders and sticking to his neck in the sweltering heat on the road, he tied it altogether in a low bun at the nape of his neck and you stared for two seconds longer than you normally would have. That coupled with the fitted shirt he was wearing and the jeans that hugged his lithe thigh muscles lent a pleasant sight. You didn't mind her admiring him, once, twice but she was crossing a line now and you dug your fingernails into your fists to help with the frustration you felt.

You snatched the pen and jotted down two aliases

Mary twisted the book back and stared at the titles, "Eddie Taylor? You don't look like an Eddie."

"He gets that a lot." You plastered the fakest smile you could muster on your face and linked your right arm with Loki's, "And I'm Joan, his wife."

Loki snapped his head toward you and looked down at the sparkle in your eyes. His heart beat a little faster in his chest at how you pressed into him and how you referred to yourself as his 'wife', but he instantly caught on to your act and smirked. Why didn't he think of that before?

"Yeah. I see it here...Joan Taylor." Mary sighed as her eyes glazed over you. 

"We're heading west for our honeymoon. Wanted to take the scenic route." You chirped.

"I don't see a ring..." Mary ran her eyes down to your left hand and smacked the gum in her mouth.

"We're getting them engraved. We wanted to remember the exact day our lives changed forever. Right, darling?" Loki finished, smiling down at you as you stifled your laughter.

"I remember being like that...young and in love. Till I got myself a new lover. Nothing beats a more...mature touch. Someone that knows what they're doing." Mary smirked at Loki and when he felt you jerk forward he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and held you in place.

"Um..the room? You still didn't say how much?" Loki needed to speed things up before you decided to put the hurt on Mary. As much as he was uncomfortable with the woman's inappropriate and disrespectful advances, both of you needed proper sleep and angering her would do neither of you any good. 

"We have a special. 3 nights for the price of two. I could use the company. A girl gets so lonely out here by herself." She winked at Loki and you fumed.

"Mary! The show's gettin' to the good part!" The voice called again from the back.

"I'm comin' !" She yelled. 

"One night is fine." You grit your teeth.

"It's 50." Loki compiled the necessary notes and passed it over to Mary, who, thankfully, was suddenly in a hurry to get it over with. 

She scribbled on a receipt and opened a small cabinet on the wall behind her. She pulled out a key under the number 10 and placed it with the receipt on the counter. Loki collected the items and nodded at her. 

"Well, you have a goodnight darlin'," with one final smirk she waved at Loki. That's when your feet lifted off the ground and you bit your lip to stop from yelping. You wrapped your arms around Loki's neck as he held you in a bridal position. 

"Oh I plan to." He winked at her before turning that devious smile your way, leaving the office as she frowned.

When you crossed the threshold to the room, you busted out laughing. 

"Can you believe her?" Loki chuckled. 

"Have to say, I admired her boldness."

"Is that so, dear _wife_?" 

"Why, yes, _husband_. I wish I had an ounce of that. Maybe I wouldn't be destined to live out my days with a bunch of cats." You joked.

Loki's eyes crinkled as he looked down at you, arms still wrapped under your knees back. The intense colour seemed to glow in the dim light of the room. Loki thought what you said was ridiculous. You were the bravest person he'd ever met.

"I like the way you are."

Your eyes shifted between his for a couple of seconds before you cleared your throat and moved your hands to his shoulders, signaling you wanted to come down. He rested you on your feet gently and you smiled tightly at him. 

He put the bags on the small bedside table and you pointed to a door adjacent to the bed that could have only been the bathroom.

"I um...I'm gonna take a shower and then uh...well if that's okay with you?"

"Uh yeah, yeah. You go ahead...I'll um..go after."

You scratched the back of your head and nodded furiously, suddenly trembling with a bundle of nerves, "Um..yeah so..."

Loki tossed you the duffel with his remaining clothes and you retreated through the door. 

You looked over the shower and tub, trying to catch your breath. You occupied your mind by looking through the bag, trying to find a shirt that would fit. You grabbed a blue Henley and one of his boxer shorts. You almost cried at the thought of having to wash your underwear in the tub. It's not that you thought it was beneath you, it just reminded you of the mess you were in. It had only been two days and already you were missing your apartment. Your coffee mug, your TV remote, your favourite spoon, the musty wash room on the second floor. Only now had you acknowledged those little things as simple pleasures. Things you didn't think you would miss at any point in your life. 

You wrung out your underwear as best as you could and wrapped it in one of the towels hung on the wall. When it was mostly dry you placed it in the bundle of clothes you made and stepped into the shower. The water was like ice on your skin, but it was soothing. Feeling the cool water covering you from head to toe once again was like heaven. As the droplets cascaded down your skin, you thought back to what Loki said, how there was a slight fluttering in your chest at his words. But you chalked it up to how close he was to you, mere inches from your face. That would make any girl feel giddy. That's all it was. 

With his shoes and socks finally off his feet, Loki crossed his legs as he sat, back to the headrest on the bed. What was he doing? Why did he say that? He did like the kind of person you were, he liked spending time with you, but did he really have to blurt it out that way? In that position? He only hoped you didn't think he was trying anything. He would hate for you to feel uncomfortable with him, just like he was with *shudder* _Mary_. But the look in your eyes as he followed the contours of your face, lent a certain calm to his aching shoulders and sore back. You made him feel at ease. Here he was thrust into this journey with you. If someone had told him a month ago that he would be on the run with the woman who was hellbent on putting him behind bars, hiding out in a motel and eating nothing but sandwiches and potato chips? He would have told them they were absolutely nuts.

It was so unexpected. He knew he planned to get away from his brother and put a wrench in his plans, but he definitely didn't see it ending up like this. He honestly never thought you would listen to him in the first place. But life was funny that way. He might have been hated by the only family he had left, and targeted by every officer in the city, but he was free. He didn't care that they spent the better part of two days in that car, staring at grass and grazing cows, he loved every moment of it, and it was even better with you. 

Loki turned his head at the creak of the door and you walked out, shirt loose around your torso and boxers snug around your hips. It made him laugh a little on seeing your droopy eyes as you trudged across the wooden floor, towel in hand. 

"Feel better?" He asked as you hung the towel on the hook by the door.

"Much. There's another towel in there. I'll keep mine out here so we don't get them mixed up."

Loki smiled. You always did small things like that. Things that he wasn't used to. You were so aware of others. You had this natural, accommodating presence. It was like you reminded him he was human. He was still here, he was still breathing. 

"Right. Well, I'll get to it then." 

You hummed as you walked over and curled up in the bed, drifting off to sleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. 

-

You hummed as you moved toward the warmth, wrapping your arm around the source. It radiated throughout your whole body. Your arms, torso, legs. It was pure comfort. And you recognized comfort especially after sleeping in a car. Loki didn't dare open his eyes.

When he finished his shower last night, he found you passed out on the mattress, curled up in the covers. He tried his best to stay on the other side, not wanting to alert you and he fell asleep instantly. But through the night, you found eachother. His arms held you naturally, curling around your waist and cradling your head against his chest. You reciprocated with a death grip around his torse and he couldn't move. He didn't know if you were a light sleeper or not, but he didn't want to take the chance. Plus...he didn't hate the position he was in. You were so calm against his chest, so peaceful. You complemented the angles of his body, fitting like a glove. Your tangled legs rested lightly upon eachother, and your chest was soft against his. But it wasn't right. Maybe he should wake you....

He didn't know you were thinking the exact same thing, wondering if you should relish in the feeling or just remove yourself from him. Before you could contemplate any longer, a loud yawn sounded from above you and you peeled back, blinking slowly to feign being woken from your sleep. 

"Good morning..." Loki bared his teeth in an awkward grin as he moved his hands to your shoulders and you rubbed your eyelids.

"Hey...Sorry about all this." You gestured to your front pressed against his and he smiled tightly at you. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead and you narrowed your eyes at him. He looked like he was anxious about something and just as you were about to ask, you perked up.

You didn't dare look down as you suddenly felt something solid press into your inner thigh. _Great...as if it couldn't get anymore awkward,_ you thought.

Loki closed his eyes, wishing he could turn invisible and hoping it was just a dream. But his twig and berries were definitely plump and throbbing, and you could definitely feel it against your thigh. You blinked rapidly and scrambled off the bed, scratching the back of your head as your other hand fell on your hip.

"So...I think maybe...maybe you shower first yeah? I'm just gonna get a soda from the machine outside, do you want one?"

"Um...sure-"

"Yeah. So um. Let me just grab the woody- I mean money!" Loki's eyes widened and you bit your lip and took a couple of dollars from the bag, "And um...okay well you- there and I...yeah," you couldn't rush out the door fast enough. 

Loki sighed and held his head in his hands. That was not how he planned on starting the day. This time, he was actually glad the motel's shower only streamed cold water. 

-

You were on the road again. Thankfully your check out was uneventful and Mary hadn't even looked Loki's way. You were 10 minutes away from your destination now, having turned into a small fishing village beyond the acres of forests that ran along the road you told Loki to turn into. You hadn't said much to eachother after the incident this morning. The air was stiff with the awkward tension that had grown between the two of you. The whole thing was an accident and of course, Loki was a man. But you couldn't look at him without remembering the feeling of his little friend pressed against you and he couldn't look at you without remembering the shocked look on your face when it happened. 

Thankfully, the small town came into view from the hillside you drove along. From there, the sea glittered like diamonds in the morning sun beyond the clusters of brightly coloured houses. There were a few boats docked along the border of the village. They bobbed gently as crews of men stacked crates and other supplies onto the decks. As you neared the entrance of the village, the fresh sea breeze wafted through the air and you closed your eyes, remembering the last time the scent filled your nostrils. Loki looked over at you. There was a sense of familiarity in your features. He already guessed that you've been there before since you guided him all the way to the village without so much as a second look at the map. He couldn't help but wonder what story lay there, especially when he noticed the sadness in your eyes. 

You guided him through the roads and along a small inlet that cut through the shoreline, past a few stilted houses standing in the water. He drove past the docked boats and the various stores that were further inland and you directed him to a 2-storey sea green cottage that looked over the sea, bordered by white picket fencing.

He parked to the side of the house, and you took a deep breath. Before Loki could place a reassuring hand on your shoulder and lend a word of comfort, you exited the car and marched up to the door. Loki almost tripped on his way over to you. You knocked on the door three times and bit your lip. After a few seconds, the door pulled open slowly and revealed a man in flip flops, khaki shorts, a colourful Hawaiian print shirt and wrinkled features that seemed to smoothen out at the sight of you. 

You sighed and looked up at him, mustering all the courage you could into the words you were about to speak, "Hey, dad."


	15. Chapter 15

"You said you were here?" Steve squinted under the blazing sun, taking out his sunglasses and shielding his eyes from the horrible glare as he questioned the witness. They established a hotline for anyone that had seen the fugitive couple and plastered their faces all over the city. In parks, libraries, neighbourhoods, every streetlight held your and Loki's faces. Some of the calls were teenagers with nothing better to do asking if his refrigerator was running or there was an Officer Seymour Butts. And some of them were angry citizens who had a bone to pick with the police.

Just when he thought it wasn't such a good idea though, someone called with an actual tip. He said he spotted the two of you at the beach, around the time Bucky was shot. He was at the beach's annual late night fair and decided to take a walk when he saw you appear from the waterside. He remembered thinking how weird it was that people were swimming at that hour. 

"Yeah, man. I left my friends at the late fair for a couple of minutes, came over here for a smoke and I saw them pop up outta nowhere. They walked up the to the boardwalk and ran over to one of those changing booths." 

Steve traced the path with his eyes and thanked the witness for his time before directing him to another officer for a formal statement.

That meant that somehow, you and Loki made it all the way through the sewers from the point of entry at the park to the beach. If you came from the water...

"Hey, Steve!" A voice called from behind the wall separating the boardwalk from the sea. Steve walked over to the open courtyard where the fair was held that night and looked over the rail. Thor stood with Sam and Nat, peering at the large concrete wall. 

Nat caught sight of him and pointed at the wall. 

"We got an exit point!"

Steve walked back down to the boardwalk and maneuvered around the wall, minding the water gently rolling in at his feet. He joined the trio and what they were looking at came into view, 

A hole was carved into the concrete, in line with the other drainage points that pushed out stormwater when the sewers were still in use. He crossed his arms and smirked. There was no visible rubble on this side, but it had to be where they came through.

"I chased after them that night after Y/n shot Bucky. But the pathways were split and diverged even more. I lost them before I could catch my bearings."

"I thought you stayed with him the whole time?" Steve asked, remembering the events as Thor told him. 

"Well yeah, I did. But the two guards from the lake came down and while they took care of Bucky I took my chance and went after them. I just wanted to catch them, Steve. After what they did...I just wanted to catch them."

Steve understood that. He would probably do the same if he were in his shoes. But he didn't know that Thor didn't give a sh*t about Bucky. He thought he took a fatal shot. He didn't plan on those guards coming down and stopping the bleeding, keeping him stable until the ambulance came. Even when he was pulled aside for a routine physical, he was hoping all the while that Bucky would succumb to his injury on the way to the hospital, hell even on the operating table. He was a loose end after all, he knew it was really Thor that shot him. When he found out he was in a coma though, he couldn't be happier. He hoped he wouldn't gain consciousness again, but maybe he should pay him a visit at the hospital...just to make sure he wouldn't wake up. 

Nat pursed her lips as she scanned the hole. Clearly, you two had made preparations beforehand. Almost like you knew things would go south...but how could you? She looked at Sam and he seemed to be thinking the same thing. Loki knew what he was doing. He was able to rob those banks without a trace and they wouldn't have known it was him if he didn't leave his calling card. This getaway plan was rushed, not in keeping with his M.O. at all. Sam didn't bother to voice his concerns though, he knew Steve wouldn't listen and Natasha kept her lips shut as well.

"We should scour the sewers again. Find where this connects. Nat and Thor, grab a team and get down to the park. Me and Sam will stay here and retrace their steps."

"If it's ok, I'd like to stay behind." Thor needed to see just how you two managed to disappear so quickly, and he couldn't do that if he went back to the sewers. He watched Steve contemplate his decision for a moment, scratching his chin and staring at the sand under his feet. 

"No. No, I need you to go with Nat. You were there that night, you could lay out the events as you go."

With that, Steve motioned for Sam to follow him and he walked away. 

Thor turned to Natasha and sighed, "Well. Let's go."

Nat nodded and followed him back to the boardwalk.

* * *

"Thought it would smell worse than this." Nat's voice echoed through the tunnel as she trailed behind Thor, the other 4 officers following closely behind. 

Thor took them through the necessary pathways. The breaches in the integrity of the ceilings, in each of the entry points to the bank vaults, were already under reconstruction. 

He stopped in the place it happened. The ceiling was already patched up. Everything that was there that night was now in evidence, minus a few things he was able to get rid of. Nat looked around and stopped, noting the stained floor near her feet.

"This is where Bucky fell..."

"Yeah. And that's where they ran through."

Natasha stood up again and moved over to where he pointed. She stood in the entrance to the other pathway and turned, facing the area again.

"Y/n was here when she shot him?"

Thor squinted his eyes at her and moved to where he was that night when he pulled the trigger. 

"She was here...I thought you knew all this already. Steve wants us to find the corresponding exit point remember?"

"Yeah I know. I'm just trying to piece it all together."

She raised her arms, mimicking the action of holding a gun and faked firing. Y/n was (shorter/taller) than her, but she knew it wasn't by a significant amount. When she read the ballistics report, the impact angle of the wound in Bucky's chest lead to an estimate of a taller suspect. Steve hadn't bothered with the paperwork from that night. He was so blinded with rage that he went straight into locating you. She was definitely worried about him, but she felt like she should bring this to his attention. It would change everything. Maybe Loki was the shooter, and he was framing you. You must have gotten close to apprehending him and he wanted to bring you down with him. He must have taken you hostage with him to ensure his getaway....but this would contradict Thor's story about that night...

"Hey. We need to get this done. We can't afford to waste time like this." Thor glared at her, wondering if she was thinking what he hoped she wasn't. 

Nat licked her lips and nodded, "Okay. Let's go." 

Thor split the team into three and set a time to reconvene. When they all returned to the area, one of the groups mentioned a locked door through one of the tunnels. They followed the two officers to the door and Nat picked the lock effortlessly. When it opened, there were beams of light streaming through the holes in the wall. They walked into the tunnel, and right there was a hole bigger than the others, giving way to plenty sunlight and a clear view of the water outside. 

"Well...looks like we found our exit." Thor announced, as Nat eyed him with the million questions running through her mind.

-

On the other side of the beach, Steve searched the fifth changing room. So far he didn't find any trace of you two being there. But the witness swore he saw you run off in this area. Sam was in the one right next to it, and at first glance, there was nothing. But under the small bench, something glittered in the dark. He shone his light under the area and a pair of handcuffs sat there. He called out to Steve and bagged them. 

"Find somethin' ?" Steve asked him..

"Yeah...these," he presented the handcuffs and Steve took the bag, studying the item. 

"They're definitely ours. But why are they here..." 

Sam wondered the same thing. They were open, which either meant they weren't used, or they were unlocked.

"We'll have to scan it for prints. You got anything else?"

Same crouched down and shone his light along the entire floor. He stopped when the light fell on black object against the wall.

"Is that a..." he muttered, pulling another evidence bag out and collecting it.

"A what? What did you find?" Steve demanded.

Sam raised the bag and presented it to Steve, "We got a phone."

Steve couldn't help the grin that broke across his face. 

"Now we're getting somewhere. Let's head back and get that to IT." 

Steve smiled all the way back to the car, his hope growing with every step but Sam couldn't help but worry. What they found would definitely lead them somewhere, but he hoped it wouldn't open another can of worms that he would get lost in. 

\- 

Back at the precinct, Steve set everything in motion. Nat and Thor got back just when he and Sam did and they reported their findings to him. They finally had a more clear idea of what happened that night. He passed the evidence along to the necessary officer and waited anxiously at his desk, pouring through the camera footage of you walking about the city.

Nat clicked her pen furiously as she pondered what Steve would say when she decided to tell him about the ballistics report. Sam noted her frown and sat on her desk.

"Hey. What's wrong?" 

She looked up at him and put the pen back down. She told him everything that was troubling her and he listened intently. 

"That's actually a possiblity. Loki could have been the shooter." 

"Exactly...I just need Steve to listen. But he won't even look at the ballistics report...he's hell-bent on getting her Sam...it's scary"

"Yeah...it is...Why don't you go down and collect it while I try to talk to him. Maybe both of us can wear him down?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sounds good."

Thor was listening from the corner, and as soon as he heard her plan he chuckled to himself, whistling as he walked back to his desk. 

Natasha rushed down the steps and signed off on the document. She raced back upstairs and found Steve actually listening to what Sam had to say. She took a deep breath and walked forward. 

Steve turned to her, "Nat...Sam says you have a theory that Y/n wasn't the shooter."

"I know what Thor said and I know what you think and I know her prints were found on the gun but if you could just take a look at this, you'll see what I mean."

She handed him the document and he took it. She looked to Sam and he smiled reassuringly.

Steve furrowed his brows and looked up at her, but his eyes were filled with annoyance, "Are you kidding me? What is this?"

Nat looked at Sam confusedly and took back the document. As she read the report she shook her head. It was different from the one she first read. This one said the suspect was about your height...not taller like the previous one did. 

"No..this has to be some kind of mistake. I was the first one to take a look at the report. It said the suspect was at least 6-"

"Natasha! Stop! I don't know if you feel some kind of guilt that you had a rat under your nose and you didn't smell it, but you can't be wasting time like this. We have work to do. Now put that away and go do your job."

His tone was harsh and stern and she jerked back a little. A few of the surrounding officers looked up at the commotion. Steve's gaze softened just a litte, before he turned back to his work. Sam gave her a pitiful look and was about to offer a comforting word but she turned away from both of them and made her way back down the stairs. She gave back the report and cradled her head in her hands.

What the hell was going on? Did she actually imagine it? Did she see what she wanted to see? It was a strong possibility. You were gone..she lost a friend. And you weren't the only one. She lost Bucky and now she was losing Steve. This whole case was changing everything and she wasn't sure she could keep up. 

She trudged back up the stairs, slumping at her desk and placing her head on her arms. 

"Rough day huh?"

She looked up to see Thor's pearly whites grinning down at her.

"Yeah...pretty much."

"I know how hard this must be for you. Especially considering you were friends..."

She didn't really feel like talking, but she thought it was sweet that Thor cared. 

"I feel like I can't take this anymore...everytime I think about this case it gives me a headache."

"That's not good. If you're in no shape to work this then...nah nevermind," he waved his hand in dismissal and she stopped him.

"No, wait. What is it?"

He pocketed his hands and shrugged, " I just think maybe you should take some time off? Just a couple days to recharge you know. Get your head on straight."

She thought it was ludicrous, taking time off at a time like this. But the more she thought about it, the more it appealed to her.

"I'm just saying that, this is affecting all of us, I mean you've seen how many bear claws Sam's eaten in the past few days right? Steve hasn't slept in I don't know how long and Tony barely comes out of his office anymore. If this keeps up, this team is going down. Then we'll have no chance at closing this thing."

She considered his words. He was right. A break is all she would need to be okay again. Maybe she'll be in a better headspace to have a proper talk with Steve then. And maybe she'll be able to be the support Sam needed. 

She looked at him and nodded, "I'll talk to Tony about it. I think he'll understand."

Thor patted her on the shoulder and turned away, smirking. _One down_ , he thought to himself.


	16. Chapter 16

You swirled the ice cubes in your lemonade as you waited for the man you've been avoiding for years to say something, anything. Loki sipped at his drink and kept his eyes on the ocean outside, occasionally glancing at you to quell his own worries. He noticed the tension in your jaw when you came face to face with the man or John, as he'd introduced himself. His were fixed on Loki when you spoke, full of irritation and disapproval and Loki avoided his gaze like the plague. Everytime you looked to him to speak, his voice was small in his presence, but he told his side of the story regardless. He didn't see much resemblance between you two, and he couldn't help but wonder what happened to drive a wedge in your relationship.

"Well...I believe you."

You looked up at John and there was that warm look in his eyes. The one you missed after all these years. 

"But...what made you come here?" 

His question caught you off guard, but he had every right to ask. Loki turned to you, waiting for your reply. 

"Well...you know mom is gone and...I've never really had anyone else so... After you left I know I haven't been easy to reach, but I had nowhere else to go. This is the first place I thought of."

He nodded in understanding and you saw a wave of conflicting emotions pass over his features. 

"I didn't mean to bombard you or anything we- we can drive further south and-" you started before he cut you off.

"No...I want you to stay. If it were up to me, you could stay here as long as you like."

You were about to question his words when you noticed the wedding band around his finger. It gleamed as it caught the light streaming in through the windows. 

"You...you're married.."

He nodded and stood up from the sofa, lifting a framed photo from off the wall.

"That's Jennifer."

He passed the photo to you and you studied the woman next to him. She was pretty with a nice smile, but her eyes were bold and piercing. He was smiling at her intently in the picture and you remembered when he used to look at your mom that way. But unlike Jennifer, your mom never got a ring. You handed him back the photo.

"She's beautiful.." you couldn't help the tinge of annoyance in your tone, and if John noticed, he didn't mention it.

He placed it back on the shelf and sat down again, "How'd you know I was still here?"

You hung your head and ran your finger through the condensation on the glass, forming random patterns.

"I kinda checked up on you a few times. Just to see if you were okay," you looked up at him, and you instantly felt like a little girl again, anticipating what your parents would say after you did something wrong.

But he only smiled, his eyes crinkling as he looked at you. He then turned to Loki and his smile faded.

"What's your plan?"

Loki stuttered as he was put on the spot.

"You wanted her help right? You got it. Now what's your plan? How are you getting her out of this."

"Dad-"

"No, sweetie. He chose to rope you into this. Now, pardon my French but he's a godda*n thief, Y/n and in my experience, thieves aren't all that trustworthy. I'm not comfortable knowing he's responsible for what happens to you-"

" _I'm_ responsible for what happens to me, not him. Look, I _chose_ to help him, okay? And you of all people should understand what it's like when you know in your heart that you have a duty to help someone no matter the cost. Especially when that person has no one else."

Loki sensed a change in the air. Tension had grown tremendously when you finished what you had to say. He fully understood why your father had reservations about him. If his daughter was running around with a thief and trying to evade police, he'd be more than concerned. But the way you spoke alluded to some history, some strained past event that transpired between you two. He did admire the way you tried to defend him however, and it made a light blush appear on his cheeks.

Just as he was about to excuse himself, John turned to him, "Excuse us for a moment."

He motioned for you to follow him outside but before you could walk out of the living room, Loki's hand ghosted over your wrist.

"Y/n-"

"I'll be fine. Just stay here." It came out a bit more harsh than you intended, but you continued on out of the room. Shoulders square and head high in indignation. 

Loki sighed. Ever since the motel, you'd been short with him. Barely saying a word, refusing to look him in the eyes. He didn't know what to make of it. He wouldn't exactly call you friends...but within the short amount of time you did know eachother, you experienced a lot together. That counted for something didn't it? Or maybe it didn't. 

He started thinking about John's question. What was his plan? You helped him get away from his brother, but how was he going to help you? And oh how he wanted to help you. He wanted you to be okay. He wanted to protect you. He wanted you to be happy. He thought about your smile. How it seemed to light up the room. Suddenly, a fuzzy feeling filled up his chest and he put his hand to his heart to stop it's wild beating.

"What are you doing to me?" He whispered.

-

John turned his back to you in the garden. The breeze ruffled the leaves of the shrubs, filling the silence that hung in the air. You remembered how peaceful it was here. How it always out you at ease. Only then did you realise just how much you missed it...missed him.

"Dad...I know you're worried about me..about him but trust me, I have to help him get out of this." 

"You've already risked so much, Y/n. Are you willing to ruin your life forever for him?" 

"You did!"

"Y/n...that's not the same."

"It is."

_Flashback_

_"I can't do this anymore, John. Y/n keeps asking me why you're not here and I...I don't like lying to her."_

_You peered around the wall into the dining room in the small apartment you and your mom lived in._

_"I don't care that you'll be out in 2 months. What you did was...I can't forget it."_

_Your mom held her temple as she walked up and down the floor, frustration written across her face as she gripped the phone in her hand. When you heard she was talking to John, you came out of your room to ask to speak with him, but when you heard the tone of her voice, you stayed back._

_"You framed that guy, John! You're always talking about how you believe in the law and you're gonna see it through but look what you did!"_

_Your fingers stated toying with the splintered wood on the wall._

_"I don't care that he was guilty, you embarrassed this entire family when you decided to take matters into your own hands...No. No, I can't do that. Goodbye, John."_

_She ended the call and wiped the stray tears on her face. Just when you were about to turn away, she spotted you and sighed._

_"Honey...what are you doing up?"_

_"I heard you talking to Dad and I wanted to talk to him..."_

_"He's not your real father, sweetheart. Remember?"_

_"I know that, but you said-"_

_"I know what I said ok baby? But, he did something really bad okay? And he's not coming back."_

_"Well...when can I see him."_

_"You can't sweetheart, ok?"_

_"But-"_

_"Just go to your room."_

_You didn't say anything else as you turned and ran to your room._

-

You remembered how confused you were. For the man you knew almost all your life to disappear all of a sudden when you were just 12 years old, it hurt more than anything else at that time.

"I lost _you_ , I lost _your mom_...what I did cost me everything I cared about. Everything I loved.."

His eyes were glassy now, and he bit his lip to quell the sudden trembling. But he only strengthened your resolve with his regret. 

"That's why I have to do this, dad. I can't stand by and watch someone's life be destroyed anymore. Why do you think I ran with him? It's because of you...I remembered how much you cared about people, how much you cared about justice. You saw how easily men could become monsters and you chose to fight for the ones left behind. You were always there. For me, for mom, for those people you swore to protect. And in the end, when you sacrificed everything to see justice done, no one was there for you. No one would listen. No one cared. Not even me...and for that I'm sorry and I know I'm not your real daughter but I'm here now...and it might not worth much but I-"

Suddenly, his arms wrapped around you, holding you tightly. Just like that all the memories came flooding back. How he would sing to you at night when you hid under your blankets from the monster under your bed. How he always cut the crusts off your sandwiches when you decided they were yucky. How he reminded you how important it was to be good in the world and treat others with kindness. That was what struck you when Loki came to you. He reminded you so much of your dad. Men, who saw the world for what it was, chose to accept it and decided they would not yield. Loki chose to change things, he chose to stand up and do what was right. That's what John did all those years ago. He was the reason you joined the force in the first place. You always thought you did it to right his past wrongs, to scrub away the dark past that made you squirm, but you realised that it was because you admired him. 

"You will always be my daughter, Y/n. Always."

You just stood there, holding eachother while the wind whistled through the air.

-

You spent the rest of the day helping John around the house and garden. He said Jennifer wouldn't be back for 3 days since she'd gone to into the neighbouring town for their business. After they tied the knot, John made her co-owner of the small fishing enterprise he built for himself. That made you a little uneasy, but it might have been the protective part of you. Loki decided to help too, and as John got to know him more, the disapproval in his eyes started withering away. 

Soon, it was late in the evening, and after the homemade burgers John made, you were all stuffed and tired. There were only two bedrooms in the house, and John insisted that Loki slept on the sofa. But when you explained to him that nothing was going on between you two, and that it would be better if you were in one place, he agreed. But he didn't like the idea of you two sleeping on the same bed, and he offered Loki an air mattress and some blankets. Honestly, you weren't up to sleeping in the same bed with Loki either. Not after what happened at the motel. You understood why it happened but, you still didn't get why it freaked you out so much. Why did you even care? Maybe it was the thought of Loki having...any sort of feelings about you. Even the ones you can't control. 

After taking a longer than usual shower and changing into clothes that actually fit (courtesy of John's wife's closet), you found Loki already laying across the air mattress, eyes closed. After he showered, John lent him some of his clothes so he wouldn't have to recycle what he had for a third time. He looked so much different to when you first met him. He looked more...at ease. Comfortable. 

When you lowered yourself onto the bed, Loki opened his eyes and sat up.

"Hey." 

You instantly felt bad for how you'd acted with him earlier. Adding unnecessary tension wasn't going to help anything. Both of had been through enough. Especially him.

"Hey...do you wanna sleep here? I don't mind taking the mattress-" you started before he cut you off.

"No. I'm used to this sort of thing. And I believe you're more in need of it than I am."

You furrowed your brows, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You think I didn't notice the way you kept rubbing your shoulder and twisting your neck in the garden."

"There were mosquitoes out there! Really big ones!"

"Oh well I must say I've never seen someone kill insects in such a manner." Loki tried to hide his smirk, but it was evident across his lips, eyes crinkling as he stifled his laughter. He was glad you were finally talking to him again. There was that air of light and comfort that came naturally. 

"Really? It's how people kill them in this town..."

"Y/n."

"No, I'm serious-"

"Y/n."

"Fine...yeah my neck and my shoulder are killing me but don't worry about it."

Loki got up from the mattress and walked over to where you sat on the bed.

"Come on, turn around." 

"What? What are you-"

"I know how to help with the pain. Now just turn around will you?"

You huffed and turned so your back was to him. Before you could question him again, you felt his slender fingers moving back and forth gently where your shoulder and neck joined.

An involuntary moan escaped your lips and you covered your mouth. Loki pretended not to hear as he smirked behind you and continued his ministrations. You cleared your throat and studied your fingernails. Loki decided to ease into conversation. He wanted to relax you, but he also had certain questions that he wanted answered, and he hoped that you wouldn't get mad at him. He didn't like it when you were.

"How long has it been since you've been here?"

Loki's elbow ran along your collar and your eyes fluttered shut. 

"A while. Last time, I was 16."

"And you remembered the way back?"

"Well...when I came here I kind of did it on my own. I'll never forget that day."

"What happened between you and him?"

For a moment he thought you were going to tell him off, but you simply sighed and started playing with a string in your shirt.

"That's a really long story. My mom met him when I was 2. My real dad died when I was just a baby and she always told me how she never thought she'd find anyone else as amazing and wonderful as he was, and she didn't want to. But she didn't plan on John. She was backed up in a double shift at the restaurant where she worked and he walked in, all swagger with his uniform. She thought he was a dick at first because he kept making these ridiculous menu requests. But he kept coming back every single day, until made his final request. He wanted her to go out with him. She said no and he backed off like a gentleman, but then someone stole her purse and when she went to report it, it was just her luck that he was assigned on the case.

"They got to know eachother after a while, and she finally said yes to that date. She was worried at first about bringing someone new into her life, and mine but, one date turned into two, then three and she said he reminded her so much of my father. When she finally introduced us, she was scared, but he didn't care that she had a kid. He moved in after a couple of years and he loved me as his own. We were like a real family for a long time."

Loki continued running his hands along your shoulder blades and you smiled softly before your lips pulled into a frown.

"Then, when I was 13...he had this case. Jane Matthews...She was found with her throat slit in her own kitchen. No weapon, DNA, nothing. They lived in a pretty secluded area too, so there weren't any witnesses. But, my dad instantly knew who did it. She came into the station a couple of times before. Black eye, bloody nose. Her husband was a dick, but he was a local business tycoon so he had a lot of hush hush money and there were no formal reports made against him. My dad worked the case for weeks, trying to find anything to tie him to her murder. There were security cameras in the apartment that the bastard put up to always keep an eye on his wife, but he insisted that they were on the fritz. There was no warrant so no way to get it anyway. He was about to give up but Jane's mom came to see him and she kept saying it was her fault that she didn't see it sooner. She knew her son-in-law did it, but she felt like she killed her daughter because she wasn't there to protect her. She just wanted closure you know? It tore him up and he promised her that he would catch him.

"He figured that with the odds stacked against him, he had to pursue other routes to catch the guy so, he paid someone to hack into their security systems. He'd been arrested a couple of times for collecting user data for this side business he was running, but he was really good so my dad hired him. The security system was heavily encrypted, but the hacker came through. There was a backup of the footage from that night. It was there clear as day. He came home, started accusing her of cheating on him and when she tried to run he grabbed a knife and slit her throat. He didn't even blink. He got someone to get rid of the evidence after that and he left. My dad thought he had everything he needed. Then the hacker's system 'crashed' and they lost everything. He thought...he thought that since he was sure he did it, he just needed the evidence to tie him to it. .So...he planted a knife with the guy's fingerprints...but when they did an analysis on it, it didn't match the wound on her throat and after that they started an investigation, he went to trial, lost his job, he served time and when he got out...my mom didn't want anything to do with him. She never told me the full story so I just thought he up and left us."

A tear fell from your eyes and you wiped it away quickly, remembering how much it hurt when your mom convinced you that John just didn't want to be around you anymore.

"When I turned 16, I found a letter addressed to me in her closet. He told me how much he loved my mom and me and...and how much he didn't want to leave but he didn't have a choice. It was a stupid thing to do...but I wanted to see him so I went to the address on the letter. It took 2 taxis, four buses and a ton of walking but, I finally made it...here. He was surprised to see me and he wanted to take me back home but I told him I wasn't leaving without the truth. I didn't go all that way for nothing. So...he talked and talked and I just remember getting so angry at him...he used to be my hero you know? That moment was when I felt like something in me broke. I knew the guy deserved to go to prison but...the way I saw the world, the way he taught me to see the world...it changed. He took me back home and of course my mom was furious but I didn't even care."

Your voice broke at the end and Loki stopped his motions, now moving to sit beside you, rubbing your back gently. His heart ached at what you had to deal with.

"You were so young. Having to deal with that...I can't imagine what that must have been like. But it's okay that you felt that way."

"I'm not so sure of that...He tried contacting me in the later years but...I never answered. When you came to me...everything about that came back. I gave up on him instead of giving him a second chance and I missed out on so many good years because of it. I wasn't going to do that again. Not to him, not to you." 

You turned to Loki, eyes full of determination. In that moment, he realised just how beautiful you were. He raised a finger to the tear cascading slowly down your cheek, and he wiped it away softly. Suddenly, everything felt elevated. The wind howling against the window beat against your ear. The light catching in your eyes and painting a warm glow across your feathres. The soft breath that escaped your lips as he inched closer.

You inhaled quickly, a rush of air filled your lungs and your heart started pounding against your chest. Loki's eyes looked on your own and your parted lips. His hand drifted to your waist tentatively, as if you would break if he wasn't careful. He licked his lips, anticipating the rush he would feel on finally meeting yours. He moved closer, eyes fully trained on your lips now. As he dipped his head, a mere breath away from you, a knock sounded and you pulled apart with a jump, Loki cursed under his breath and tripped over his feet as he stood. 

John poked his head into the room and eyed you suspiciously.

"Evertything alright?"

You nodded, scratching you head and smiling wide, "Everything's great. Thanks again, dad. It really means a lot."

"More than you know," Loki added.

John nodded, "No problem, kiddo. You guys have a goodnight alright."

He disappeared, closing the door behind him and you sighed. Loki tapped his foot against the carpet and shifted awkwardly. 

"Right well...um. Goodnight, then."

He moved over to the air mattress and collapsed on it. Bringing the blanket over him as you settled in the bed, suddenly missing Loki's warmth. 

"Goodnight, Loki." 

That night, as the moonlight shined into the room, Loki lost himself in dreams of you while you tossed and turned as a new conflict brewed in your mind. 

* * *

When Loki woke up, he was in panic mode. You weren't in the bed, you weren't in the bathroom. He was freaking out. Just as he was about to rush downstairs, he noticed a piece of folded paper on the desk. 

_Hey,_

_Went to work with Dad. You seemed pretty comfy so decided not to wake you. Breakfast in the microwave. Lunch plate in fridge._

_-Y/n_

_P.S. You paw your nose when you sleep._

His lips pulled into a wide grin. He read your words over and over until they didn't make sense anymore. He chuckled softly from the little detail you added at the end. It made his heart leap to think you noticed that about him. He checked the time. It was almost midday. How tired was he to sleep for so long? A part of him wished you woke him up so he could spend the day with you and John, but he probably did need the rest. He moved to the bathroom, deciding to get ready for the rest of the day and anticipating your return. 

* * *

When you returned home late in the evening, you found Loki, dressed comfortably, on the sofa with a book. Your heart picked up a bit and your breathing shallowed. You suddenly felt like it was too soon to face him and right when you turned to walk back out, he spotted you. 

"Y/n..."

You cursed under your breath and turned to face him.

"Loki...hi."

He was at a loss for words. Not quite knowing what to say to you. You just stood there, playing with your shirt and biting your lip. 

"Thanks for the food um...earlier." Loki stammered.

You nodded and smiled at him, "Wasn't just me."

"Speaking of John, where is he?" Loki only now noticed the man's absence. 

"He's staying at his shop tonight. He's going out on the water pretty early tomorrow so..."

"Oh. You didn't want to go with him?"

You would have enjoyed the fresh sea breeze whipping through your hair as salty spray crashed against your cheeks as John's fishing boat ripped through the waves, but you couldn't risk it. You were pretty sure Loki would tag along too, and after last night you wanted to stay as far away from him as possible for as long as you could. 

"He has a crew and I don't really want anyone to ask questions..."

Loki thought that made sense. Being here was a pleasant change from what you two endured over the past week. Even if you still had to hide, at least you had time to breathe. 

"Look, Y/n...about last night-"

"I'm gonna take a shower."

Loki sighed. He was becoming a little annoyed with your avoidance everytime you two got closer. He wasn't sure what exactly he expected to happen between the two of you, but he knew something was there.

You didn't want any part of it though. You took your time in the shower, wanting to be alone for as much as possible. You knew he didn't deserve it but, you just couldn't get involved with him. It wouldn't help anything. There was no hope for the two of you if you got wrapped up now, and it would look even worse if you got caught. Both of you would reek guilt. 

You finished up and headed back downstairs, deciding to take a walk along the beach to clear your head. You prayed that Loki would just focus on his book and ignore you as you slid the side door open, but of course things wouldn't go your way. 

"It's getting pretty dark out there." Your nostrils flared as your hand came off the handle. You hoped he would let you go before you got angry. 

"I'm just going for a walk on the beach. I'll be back before sunset," you rolled your eyes and Loki shook his head slightly, noticing your irritation. 

"Why don't I come with you?" Your blood started to boil even further.

"That's fine."

"I want to. I've been in the house all day. I'll keep you company," he offered. He smiled gently at you, but it just stirred more anger in the pit of your stomach. You couldn't even look at him in the moment, so naturally, you snapped.

"Look, I don't need you looking after me and following me around all the time, ok? Just...leave me alone."

You stomped off, slippers in hand as you walked out of the gate and trailed along the beach, watching the froth of the waves inch near your feet. The wind whistled in your ear, and you looked out amongst the sky. The sun hung low, casting an array of beautiful bright colours across the golden hue. A warmth grew in your chest as the guilt started seeping in, but you fought hard against it, telling yourself that you couldn't let Loki get any closer. You couldn't allow yourself to breed any expectations for you two within your heart, it would only come back to bite you in the end. You didn't want to end up brokn and disappointed. Then you heard a voice call from behind.

You turned and saw Loki running toward you, kicking up sand as he neared. You turned back to the front and continued on, wishing he wasn't real, that he would just turn back and move forward like nothing happened. That's what you were prepared to do.

"Y/n. Stop!"

You refused, quickening your place along the shoreline.

He wrapped his hand around your wrist and you yanked it away.

"What the hell is your problem?" You snarled.

"My problem? What about you?"

He matched you in tone and anger, furrowing his brows and flaring his notrils. His face took on a crimson hue as his eyes laced with frustration. 

"What about me?"

"Why are you avoiding this?"

"Avoiding what?"

"Me? You? Why can't we talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about," you laughed humourlessly.

"Nothing?"

"No..."

"After what we've been through together, after all the things I've told you and you've told me...you're saying none of that matters?"

"Yeah that's exactly what I'm saying." Deep down it did. In the pits of your heart aching for something more, it definitely mattered.

"So when I do _this_..." he stepped closer to you, running his thumb along your cheek. The crimson had drained from his face, and his skin seemed to glow in the evening light as he trained his eyes on you. 

"You feel nothing?" He asked.

Your eyes darted at everything but his, and he gently cupped your chin and held it in place, daring you to look him in the eyes.

"And _this_...." 

His other hand ran down to your waist, pressing you closer to his body. Your heartbeat picked up, and the rhythm sounded all the way to your eardrums, like a foreboding tune, warning you of what could happen if you took the plunge. The last time you hoped to get closer to someone, that person betrayed you. You fears rose and you let them. 

"Nothing?" His voice was incredibly gentle and his eyes peered into yours, dulling the magnificent hues of the sky stretched out above you.

Loki was very aware of his own heart, pounding against his chest like it was yearning for release from its cage. There were so many things he wanted to say to you, and if you would have him, he would present himself vulnerable to your heart's content. But all you could think about, was how irrational and rushed it all was.You were both pushed into a tough situation. It was only natural for feelings to arise at some point. In any other case, if both your lives were different, you knew Loki wouldn't spare a second glance at you. And you feared then when everything was over, the result would be the same. This was like the movies you watched as a kid, where the Prince rescues the Princess and she falls in love with him. Except in this case, you were the rescuer, and Loki simply appreciated you for 'saving' him. That's all it was. 

"This...this isn't _real_. The only reason you think something is there is because I'm the first person that treated you like you should be. I was just doing what anyone else would do that's not...that's not something to form a relationship on..."

"I-"

You pressed a finger to his lips, "Just...just let me finish please...What's gonna happen after, Loki? You're gonna forget about me and move on with your life. You have to. There's no moving forward with me. I...I can't do this."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me? You...you think I'll forget about you? That I should forget about you?"

You looked up at him. As the sky darkened and the beginning of the night started setting in, cold air nipped at your skin and you licked your lips, nodding.

""Y/n...I could never forget about you. What I feel.." he took your hand and placed it on his heart. The beat thrummed against your fingertips, rushed and heavy. 

"What I feel, is not futile...it is not fleeting. What I feel isn't dependent on whether I uphold you as my saviour or my hero. This is not worship or extensive gratitude. This is absolute. When I look at you, I see everything that's right with the world. Everything I want to be..."

He smiled softly, "Everything I want to love..."

Your breath hitched and you stared at him. He meant every word. He understood why you were apprehensive now. You thought his feelings were misguided. A rush of emotion that developed because you 'saved' him from his past life. But that wasn't it at all. Of course you reminded him along the way that he mattered, that he was a human being just like the rest of the world and he didn't deserve everything that happened to him. But it was the small things along the way that lead him to appreciate your huge heart. How much you cared for others. He caught a glimpse of your soul, a soul he wanted to explore every inch of, and thought it was beautiful. _You_ were beautiful. 

He brought his face closer to yours, tightening his hold on your waist. You closed your eyes and felt his lips, soft and wanting brush against yours. He hesitated for moment, but when you tangled your hand in his hair and pulled him closer he pressed his lips fully against yours. 

He was gentle and slow. Taking his time as he moved in tandem with you. His lips latched onto yours like it was the last thing he would do. His fingers dug into your back, as if he dreamed of consuming every inch of you, overcome with how you tasted. You tilted your head to deepen the kiss, wrapping your arm around his neck to be flush against him.

When the pressure built in your lungs, you pulled back slowly, eyes still closed as if you feared it was a dream and you were a second away from his presence dissolving before you. But his hands remained clasping your waist, and his eyes fluttered open, boring into yours and gifting you a smile that revealed what he felt in that moment. He never looked so bright, so lively, and you realised in that moment, how prepared you were to do anything to see that smile again. 

No words were exchanged as you laid your head upon his chest, while he rubbed his thumb along your back where his hands lay. You both looked out to the water. Where the sky met the sea, the sun had disappeared, ushering in a blanket of stars that glittered all around you. A small smile reached your lips as the darkness that had fallen in the pits of your heart started to rise, giving way to a beam of light much like that of the stars. Hope blossomed again as your embraced the warmth and comfort you felt in his arms. Loki maintained his hold on you, not wanting to let go. There was not an ounce of fear within him at the prospect of what the days to come would bring, because as long as he had you, he was ready for anything. 


	17. Chapter 17

"Ma'am, if you can just stick to what you remember, that would be really helpful." Tony sighed as the woman, Mary, made another pass at him. She scowled and folded her arms, turning up her nose and huffing. 

"They stayed in room 10 for one night, left late the next morning."

"Did they say where they were going?"

"Somewhere west for their honeymoon."

"Newlyweds?"

"Appeared to be, but I knew something was wrong. Her husband couldn't stop eyeing me. I keep myself fit you know?"

Tony had to use all his strength to stop himself from rolling his eyes. She was _definitely_ telling the truth. 

"They paid in cash?"

"Yeah." 

"My team and I will need to check out the room, analyse it for evidence."

"Now hold on. When I called when hotline after seeing those two on the tv, I called as a concerned citizen. And they said anyone with info was eligible for a reward. You'll get in that room, as soon as I get my cash," she demanded.

Tony closed his eyes and sighed for the millionth time. It was going to be a long day. 

-

"As it stands, there's very little evidence we collected from the motel and along the road they took there were no surveillance cameras so there's no way of knowing where they went. 

"West. That's where they said they were heading right?" Sam offered.

"That's what they _said_ , but as we know, we can't take them for their word."

Steve scoffed and shook his head, "No we can't. But we should still check it out."

"Which is why I want each of you to gather a team and head into each of the towns that leads out from the road they took. First we'll head west, then branch out."

"We should get Nat back in, we need all the manpower we can get-" Steve started.

"No. She...she needs some time off. You all can understand that right?" Tony hoped they would all agree.

Thor finally spoke up from his seat next to Sam, nodding in understanding, "I, for one, think she deserves it. This whole thing...it's taking a lot out of us"

"I don't think that gives her an excuse to be lazy." Steve chimed in.

"Hey man, it's Nat we're talking about here. She's put in more hours than you did at her level." Sam defended.

Tony rubbed his temple and took a deep breath. For the past couple of days Steve and Sam had been going at it like a couple of teen girls fighting over a boy. They didn't have time to be on opposite sides right now, and it seemed like the only person who understood that was Thor.

"Yeah, well at my level I didn't have a co-worker moonlight as a bank robber and put my friend in a coma."

"Man will you quit that? What happened to Bucky is affecting all of us and I'm sick of you being so selfish all the time!"

Tony's nostrils flared as his grip on the podium tightened, knuckles turning white. He was getting sick of the constant bickering. Thor stifled a laugh in his throat as the two men yelled at eachother.

"Selfish? You're talking to me about selfish when you're the one that took a whole year to ' _heal_ ' after your buddy died?"

"That's enough!" Tony's hands slammed onto the podium as he willed them to shut up. Steve's face was red as he stood in the corner of the room, fists clenched at his sides. At the mention of his late friend Riley, Sam's eyes turned glassy as he bit his lip, eyebrows furrowed in anger. 

Thor studied their reactions and nodded slightly to himself, relishing in the conflict tearing them apart.

"We can't do this right now. I want all of you to form your teams and prep them for tomorrow. Sam you take the first town, Steve you take the second, Thor the third. I don't want to hear any complaints, I just want results. Understood?"

All three men nodded and Tony stormed out of the room, returning to his office. 

Steve opened his mouth to apologise, but Sam rushed out of the room before he could say anything. He turned to Thor and chuckled humourlessly. 

"At this rate, we're never gonna catch them."

Thor shook his head, "We will. Sam doesn't understand how important this is for you. You've been friends with Bucky for years. If you ask me, you have the bigger burden to bear."

Steve smiled, "Thanks, Thor. I'm glad someone sees my side of things. I'm glad you're on the team."

He patted him on the back and Thor nodded, happy he could pull Steve on his side. 

"About Bucky, I was thinking I should visit him. Just to....you know," he put on his best grief struck expression and Steve nodded, "That's a good idea. Well...I think the results on the phone should be back by now so I'm gonna go-"

"Phone? What phone?" Steve was faken aback by the sudden wild look in Thor's eyes but brushed it off.

"We found Y/n's phone. It was cracked and out of use but I sent it to IT and it should be ready now. Sam was supposed to get the update and get back to me but I don't think he's in any state right now so I'm heading down before-"

"Wait! I mean, let me do it. If Loki was in contact with her before, I need to see it with my own eyes. I need the push."

Steve hesitated since he was anxious to see what was on that phone, but if Thor needed the extra motivation to follow through this case, especially when he was closest to it, he would give it to him.

"Alright. But get back to me ASAP."

"Will do." 

-

Thor never ran so fast in his life. He jumped three steps at a time down to IT, almost running into a few uniformed officers on the way down. When he finally made it to the tech lab, he sighed. He pushed open the door and what he saw made him stop in his tracks. Sam was already there, standing beside Matt, the head of the department, and staring intently at his monitor. When Sam caught sight of Thor by the door, his jaw clenched and his eyes returned to the screen. Thor cleared his throat and walked over to the coffee station, making himself a cup before casually walking over to Sam. 

"Hey...Steve sent me down for an update on the phone. Find anything?"

He took a sip of his coffee and stood on the other side of Matt, who was furiously typing away like he wanted to demolish the keyboard.

Sam folded his arms and shook his head, "Nothing yet. But we should get something anytime now."

"Where's the phone? Thought you'd need it for that." Thor's eyes scanned the room frantically, hoping to locate the phone so he could get his hands on it.

"Oh please, I don't need the hardware for this," Matt boasted, "If I was an amateur, I wouldn't be here. I'm almost in."

Thor could feel the heat coming off the monitor, he felt like he was boiling. He took another sip of his coffee and leaned over Matt's shoulder, hovering over the monitor. Sam folded his arms as he eyed him, eyes trained on the coffee in his hand, careful of the hot liquid near the monitor.

"What are those weird symbols?" Thor asked.

Matt chuckled, "They're all symbols, you're gonna have to be a little more specific."

"I mean those right there- " Thor placed his hand on the table as his other hand holding the mug moved toward the monitor, he slipped his hand off the table and jolted himself forward, spilling the coffee on the monitor and keyboard.

A loud hiss and crackle sounded throughout the room as Matt yelled, "What the hell?"

Thor winced and a string of apologies spilled from his mouth. Sam's eyes narrowed in suspicion, a voice in the back of his head was giving him all the signals of a red flag. 

"I'm so sorry..my hand slipped and I-"

"Get outta here! You just ruined hours of work you know how long it'll take me to run my broad data recovery algorithm on that thing again?"

"Well..you did say you weren't an amateur."

"Just leave!" Matt shouted, face red with anger. Sam watched as Thor bolted from the room, new questions playing on his mind. 

Steve didn't take the news so well. He didn't say a word when Thor explained how he slipped and his coffee fell over the monitor. He blamed it on his nerves, anxiety taking over him as he was filled with dread over what they would find. But he didn't care if Steve was angry with him, he bought himself at least 3 days before they could find anything that would prove Y/n's innocence on that phone. And he was going to use those three days wisely. 

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. When the ringing stopped, he spoke, "Tell Thanos to move it up. We do this tomorrow."

-

Sam stared at his desk, questioning everything he was told, everything he did and everything the team was going to do. No one knew, but he was conducting his own investigation on the sidelines and what he found lead him to wonder if Y/n was innocent after all. From the beginning, he never understood why Steve didn't coordinate with the managers of the hit banks and determine if Y/n had any connection to them. But when he called in, they all said the same thing. She came to then directly, after they were robbed and was looking into the construction if the vault. If she was involved in the heist, why would she look into that after they happened? 

One of the managers, Mr. Dawson explained how shocked he was to hear the news, but he swore that when she approached him, she was only trying to help. He tried calling the precinct to speak to one of the detectives and explain this, that they had to have the wrong person, but there was only one person that took his call and dismissed him everytime. When Sam asked him for a name, the word Thor sent shivers down his spine. Mr.Dawson insisted that she was piecing together information on how the vaults were broken into, but she didn't want him to say anything. Sam kept thinking that if only she spoke up, she wouldn't be in this mess. 

He was becoming more and more convinced that they were being steered in the wrong direction. It was all too convenient. Someone was trying to distract them. Keep them trained on her to keep their eyes off the real suspect. And it was clear to him now exactly who that person was. 

-

Thor whistled as he sauntered through the hospital hallway, winking at blushing nurses as they passed by. He nodded at the detail in front of Bucky's room and entered, closing the door behind him and smiling wickedly. He kept his voice low as he moved over to the chair at Bucky's bedside, leaning forward and staring at him intently. 

"Barnes. It's good to see you. So tell me, what's going on. Anything new?"

There was only the steady beep of the EKG machine, and Thor chuckled.

"Oh wait, forgive me. You can't say anything."

He moved his hand toward the unconscious man's mouth and pulled his lower lip down repeatedly, mocking his helpless state. 

"I'm Bucky, I'm the annoying little prick who just won't die."

Thor stifled his laughter as he held his stomach and sighed.

"Well. All that's gonna change. You put up a good fight, Barnes. But I'm here to finish what I started."

He pulled a syringe from his pocket and stood up slowly, knocking the liquid in the clear tube.

"Don't worry. This won't hurt."

He reached for Bucky's wrist, turned it so his palm faced up and positioned the syringe near his vein. 

He had just punctured his skin when door swung opened, startling him. He pocketed the syringe and turned to the person that entered.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" Thor asked, his voice shaky.

Sometimes, Sam wished he wasn't trained to take in every detail of a room, because if he saw what he thought he did, things were worse than he suspected. 

"I come to check on him every couple of days. You?" Sam tried his best to keep his voice level, to keep his breath steady as his heart picked up. There was a shadow tearing the light along Thor's face in half, and in that moment he looked absolutely terrifying, just standing there staring at him.

Finally, Thor nodded, "Thought it was time I did. I've been avoiding it for too long. Sometimes I feel like it's my fault. You of all people can understand that right?"

Sam agreed, "Yeah. Yeah I know what you mean." He was more than thankful for the two officers outside, he kept telling himself he wouldn't try anything, but he was still prepared for whatever was to come. 

A beat of silence passed, both men eyeing eachother. 

"Well. I think it's best I go now. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Tomorrow" Sam watched Thor leave the room and sighed, clutching his chest. He turned back to Bucky and an instant gloom fogged the rich brown in his eyes. He slumped in the chair, hoping his friend would wake up soon. 

-

"I don't know what she'll think, but you're my daughter and you're not going anywhere."

You tried to smile as John reassured you that no matter what Jennifer felt, you and Loki were welcome to stay. Your hands were cut and grimy from cleaning piles of the tuna, salmon and halibut he caught yesterday. You looked over at Loki who tried his best not to wrinkle his nose at the smell. His cheek had a smear of fish scales and skin stuck to it and you stifled a laugh. He caught your eyes and gave you a playful look of disapproval, sticking his tongue out at you as you did the same. John noticed the exchange, but he didn't say anything, choosing to resume his work. But a small smile played across his lips at seeing the joy on your face. He missed the light in your eyes and he was happy to see it again. 

When you were finally finished and everything was packaged and put in the commercial freezer at the back of the shop, you all clambered into John's truck and headed home. The shower felt like heaven, and once you were finished you curled up in bed, cool and cozy under the sheets. When Loki finished cleaning himself up, he positioned himself beside you, curling a hand around your waist and his other on the pillow above your head. Like you promised John, you didn't sleep together on the bed, but Loki would come lay with you just for a little while enjoying the moment of quiet until he heard your soft breathing and saw your eyes closed. 

But this night, his soul was stirring. There was a great conflict in his heart and even the magnificent display of stars outside the window and your peaceful sleeping form next to him couldn't quiet the trouble brewing. He knew that this night, he wouldn't sleep a wink. Truthfully, he hadn't slept since you came to John's house, but he wouldn't tell you this. He couldn't. If he did, you'd want to know why and if you found out the reason well you'd probably never speak to him again.

It was weighing on his soul and he felt awful for lying to you. He should have told you from the beginning what he had done, but he was so wrapped up in the moments you two shared that he forgot about the secret he was keeping entirely. He thought about the car parked outside, the one you two shared on the road for hours on end. If only you knew what was in there, what he was hiding, everything would come crashing down. He couldn't tell you, at least not yet. He turned toward the stars, wishing for some sign, some reassurance that everything would be ok. But they simply twinkled in the distance across the black sky, the same sky he kissed you under a couple of days ago. They seemed to taunt him, tease him, and suddenly they didn't seem so magnificent anymore. 


	18. Chapter 18

You didn't like her. Plain and simple. She seemed sweet enough on the surface. Said all the right words, smiled just when she needed to. She was polite and graceful. But you didn't like her. There was an urgent tingling in your stomach that kept nagging at you, especially when she brushed her hand against John's shoulder and batted her eyelashes at him. Or when she would toy with her long silver earrings and click her fingernails. 

"Well, I'm heading off to bed. Coming sweetie?" John stood from the table his now empty glass in his hand. Since she arrived you'd been sitting on the back patio, enjoying drinks in the cool night air. Loki was quiet, which wasn't unusual for him, but his smile didn't reach his eyes whenever John made a joke and he avoided your gaze whenever he could. You were wondering if he changed his mind about the two of you, and you didn't know if you could stomach that just yet. 

Jennifer shook her head, "Oh, not right now honey, I think I'll stay out here a while." She smiled at you and you forced one back. You looked at Loki, hoping he'd stay back with you. Even though he was drowning in guilt over what he was holding back, he easily noticed the tension in your smile, the stiffness in your shoulders and he knew you had reservations about Jennifer. He couldn't say he didn't have a similar sense of distaste building in his throat on first meeting her. He spent a lot of time with crooks and criminals, and with the way Jennifer was acting, it was just a little too forced.

Jennifer took a sip of her drink and leaned back in her chair, "So. After all these years, you came back huh?"

John had condensed the story. Easily omitting the fugitive part, but retaining the sentiment of his lost daughter coming back to him. You wanted to run away and hide when he introduced Loki as your boyfriend, but you forced another smile and took it in stride. Jennifer had cooed at it all, throwing grins your way when John looked at you warmly. But her eyes only held a cold chill that ran down your spine.

"I just...I really missed him." It was the truth. Even if the circumstances of your reunion weren't exactly...ideal, you were happy it finally happened. This whole thing made you face your past and come back to John, and you thought that it made everything worth it. 

"So I guess you heard about his business."

"Um...sure," you wondered where she was going with it, Loki was just as confused.

"Um...Lanky is it? Mind bein' a dear and gettin' me another glass?" She clicked her painted fingernail against her empty glass and Loki looked at you, eyes widening in displeasure at her getting his name so very wrong. He stood up and nodded, taking the glass and retreating into the house. Jennifer turned back to you and her smile disappeared. 

"I just think it's a little convenient is all. I mean, for you to come back now after all this time."

You caught on to her implication.

"That's not...I don't care about-"

"Look. I'm just lookin' out for my husband. Ok? If you think you can just come back here and expect him to give you everything he has you have another thing coming."

You clenched your jaw, feeling all the anger rising in your throat. You were about to release a few choice words for her, when Loki came back, setting the drink in front of her and sitting next to you.

"Actually. I think I'm going to bed now. Sorry to waste you a trip, love." She waved her hand at us both and disappeared through the back door and into the house. 

Loki watched the heat radiate off of you, wary of what just transpired. Instead of asking, he simply took your hand and nudged you to stand. You rolled your eyes, but reluctantly did so. He pulled you toward him and wrapped his arms around your waist, holding you as if it was the last time he ever would. 

* * *

The next day, you woke up before the sun thought to rise, leaving a half asleep Loki who'd only just began to fall asleep on the air mattress. You walked down the steps and into the kitchen, pouring yourself a glass and downing it in one go. Jennifer's words were still fresh in your mind. You pulled back the curtain in the living room and watched the faint gleams of the sun casting a light glow on the early morning. You sighed and turned back, looking at nothing in particular around the house. It was then, among the darkness that you noticed the light streaming from an ajar door in the hallway. John's study.

You wondered if he was also up late, and you thought to go pull him away from whatever he was doing and convince him to rest. But when you walked into the room, no one was there. There was only a lamp left on on the desk and you walked over, moving your fingers to the chain to switch it off but your eyes ran over the documents laid over the desk and you stilled. At the sight of John's name, and Jennifer's and a whole bunch of other words that made your throat seem to close up, you anger boiled and you felt that familiar rage again. 

You heard footsteps creaking down the stairs and you gasped, running to the door and hiding behind it as the person pushed it open and walked over to the desk. You peeked behind the wooden mass concealing you from none other than Jennifer, who collected all the documents, pushed them hastily in a folder and locked them in a drawer in the desk with a key held by a chain around her neck. She switched off the lamp and hurried out the room, closing the door and leaving you in the darkness.

Your chest heaved. With anger, anxiety, sadness, confusion. And with those feelings bottled up, threatening to spill over, you tiptoed back up the stairs, but this time, you didn't return to the bed. You found yourself seeking Loki's arms, his warmth and comfort. At first you thought he'd push you away or will you back to bed, but he welcomed you and held you tightly, kissing your forehead and closing his eyes again. You lay there and hoped to forget what you saw, just for tonight.

-

You ate your buttered toast wordlessly, laughing halfheartedly at John's morning quips. Jennifer's guffaw echoed throughout the kitchen and Loki tried not to roll his eyes. The morning passed slowly, each second dragging on as the weight of what you discovered pulled you down further. You washed dishes and clothes. You wiped windows and mopped floors and took a walk outside, keeping your distance from everyone. Loki hadn't sought you out and even if it hurt a little, you were kind of glad. You didn't want to talk. You didn't want the words to leave your lips. You still couldn't believe it.

When you walked back in the house, you knew you were caught in the middle of something between Jennifer and John. They stopped talking as soon as you walked in and you felt like you were a kid in trouble that was about to get yelled at. Jennifer was fuming with her arms folded and her foot tapping on the floor. John's hand on the back of the sofa dug into the soft cushion, morphing the once curved shape. You didn't wait around another second as you excused yourself quickly and rushed upstairs. Loki was reading on the bed. His eyes passed over you briefly before turning back to his book. You collapsed next to him and sighed. He put his book aside and lowered himself beside you, brushing his thumb against your cheek and offering you a smile that melted away all the hurt and pain and anger you felt. 

Your lips curled in response and he brushed his against yours lightly, caressing your waist and pulling you closer. You took in the wrinkle in his forehead, the way he was focused on the bedsheet. 

"You ok?" Your voice was low and gentle and you cringed. You couldn't remember the last time you talked to someone like that. So..soft.

Loki was in a deep dilemma. He was considering the best course of action. If he should tell you what he was hiding, or if he should just forget it all for now. There were so many things he started thinking about again. Things he thought he would never have. But you drew all those feelings back, and he was a bit embarrassed to admit it to himself, but he was hopeful for the future. How could he jeopardize that? But wasn't it selfish to think about only himself and what he wanted with you? After all, all of this was his fault. He couldn't watch the woman he cared so much about, the woman he one day hoped to be so much more be hurt any longer, especially when he could fix this. 

"I...I was thinking. We can't exactly run forever can we?"

Your smile instantly fell from your face, and he hated that he took it away. 

"No...no we can't." You whispered.

"What if I-"

"Don't say it. Please don't say it, Loki."

He licked his lips and shushed you gently, "What if turned myself in? There's enough money left for you to get further South. I know someone that can get you out of the country, he used to do business with my brother but he's a good guy. I can call him and maybe he'll try to-"

"Stop. I'm not just going to leave you. I can't do that I-"

"You have to!" You jumped at his tone, and backed away from him on instinct. He closed his eyes, sighing deeply before he looked at you again.

"Look. You have to let me do this. What we're doing right now, running away? It's not going to solve anything. What kind of life would we lead if we're running all the time?"

"But at least we'll be running together, Loki."

Even you couldn't believe the words coming out of your mouth. When exactly did this situation change from you believing a man's innocence and pledging to help him, to you completely disregarding the laws and sense of justice you upheld for most of your life. Loki may not have been the instigator, but he was an accomplice. Unwilling or not. As much as you hated to say it, deep down you knew there were consequences for your actions, even if your motives were skewed, even if your heart was in the right place. You took a deep breath and caressed his cheek. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into your hand.

"Okay." He knew you would agree to it all along. From the first time he met you, there was that fire in your eyes. You had such a strong and unwavering belief system, one that couldn't be swayed or sullied. And here he saw those flames again, and he knew you were making the right call.

"We're turning ourselves in." You stated,

Loki shook his head. You were completely innocent in all this, he couldn't believe you were willing to be put behind bars for something you never did. And with the murder charges of a fellow officer pitted against you, well he wasn't sure they would let you see daylight again. 

"Y/n...you can't do that. You've done nothing wrong you-"

"Nothing wrong? I aided and abetted a wanted thief, I concocted an off the clock investigation without the go ahead from my superiors and I intentionally avoided a federal agent who was about to strip me of my badge and gun. I'm a regular bad girl, sweetheart."

You winked, trying to add some light to the situation and Loki laughed. You knew there were a ton of things to add to that list. Things that Thor had twisted into looking like you did. Being an accomplice to Loki's thefts, falsifying evidence and worst of all, shooting a police officer. You felt terrible that you hadn't thought about Bucky much in the past few days. You didnt know if that was because you intentionally pushed him out of your mind so you wouldn't obsess over whether he was okay, or if it was because there were so many other things going on, it was hard to keep track of all the things that went wrong, all the things you had to worry about. It killed you to think that he was dead. You wondered how Steve must have felt on hearing the news. You wondered if Sam was okay with another friend of his getting hurt on duty. You wondered if Natasha, as strong as she was, wasn't slowly crumbling inside and being taken back to the days when she felt helpless to stop everything bad around her. And you wondered if Tony was questioning his judgment as a captain who'd unknowingly let a 'thief and a murderer' inside the precinct's walls. 

The more you thought about them, the more you felt like you had to do this. You needed all of this to end once and for all. For them, for you, for Loki. You made a promise to yourself that when you got back, Loki wouldn't be the only one facing consequences. Thor was probably relishing in the fact that the two of you ran, it only made you look guilty. But he had another thing coming. You two were going back there and telling them everything. You didn't care if you already ruined your reputation. Thor abused his authority as an officer and an older brother. He was supposed to cherish those roles and use them to protect others, not hurt them. He was going to pay for everything he did and you were going to see it happen. 

Loki could see the determination in your expression and his smile only widened. If you were thinking what he thought you were, you were planning to get back and kick Thor's a*s. And he was all for it.

"We'll leave tomorrow evening. We'll go to the nearest city and find the nearest station and surrender. I'm sure when the word gets out, your friends will get there fast enough."

"Friends is a strong word. After all, they'll be the ones restraining us and taking us in. We should probably pack."

"Right." Loki gave you a quick peck and stood up, retrieving the clothes he had before that was now washed and folded in the chest of drawers in the corner of the room. You stood to do the same, but when you did, you remembered something. Something you couldn't believe hadn't crossed your mind when you were planning your surrender with Loki. 

"There's actually something I have to do first."

Loki furrowed his brows and you shook your head, "It's nothing you need to worry about. It's just...I need to talk to my dad."

Loki nodded in understanding and you left him packing.

-

When you got downstairs, John and Jennifer weren't where you last saw them. You looked around the whole house and there was no sight of them. You noticed John's van wasn't parked out front and for a second, you assumed they left, until you spotted Jennifer on the back patio, sipping wine and playing with her dangling silver earring. You rolled your eyes and walked over to the door, sliding it open and greeting her.

"Hey um...do you know where my dad is?"

"Isn't he dead?"

You were taken aback by her abrupt tone, but you shook it off and tried to keep your composure.

"John. Have you seen him around?"

"Oh you mean your fake daddy. He got an impromptu order from a customer. Went to go deal with it."

"Well...do you know when he'll be back?" She didn't say anything for a while. She just sipped her wine and sucked her teeth.

"Why? Got somethin' important to tell him?"

A part of you wondered if she knew what was really going on with you and Loki, but you figured there was no way. John made it a point not to tell her and you knew he didn't. But if she was toying with you, you wouldn't let her. You needed to talk to him.

"Actually, I do. So if you could just tell me-"

"I know you were in the office last night."

You blinked back your surprise and was about to answer, but she spoke again.

"Don't even try to bullsh*t me. Why d'ya think I even came down when I did? Sure I was waiting for John to fall asleep before I snuck back down to finish what I was doin', but I heard someone come out of your room. When I peeked through your door, you went there, so it had to be you."

You couldn't speak. You felt frozen by her icy stare and cold tone.

"By the way, what is up with you and that boy's sleeping arrangement? Are y'all waitin' for marriage or something?"

You bit back the embarrassment you felt at the idea of Loki and you doing...that, but you steeled your nerves.

"What are you trying to say to me, Jennifer. Because if you're not going anywhere with this, I think I'll be leaving now."

"Oh, I'm going somewhere alright. It's no coincidence you're here. You heard your 'daddy' had a business now and you came back here with your little boyfriend to try and milk him. Well you're not gettin' a cent before I do sweetheart. I can guarantee that."

You weren't frozen anymore. You were searing with anger. She had the audacity to accuse you of trying to rob your dad when she was making moves behind his back? Apart from telling him your decision to leave, you were going to tell John everything she was doing so he could dump her sorry a*s, but in that moment, you figured it was better to confront her to her caked up face.

"Listen, _Jennifer_. That ring you're wearing," you pointed to the band around her finger, with a diamond that twinkled like a thousand stars, "is supposed to mean something. John is a good man, one of the best men I know. Now, I don't know how you managed to slut your way into his life and have him buy you all those pretty lipsticks you like to wear and those silver earrings you like so much, but you took an oath to love and cherish him. He may not be my real dad, but damn it to hell if I'm not gonna protect him like any daughter would." 

Her eyes were warning you against saying anything further, but you didn't care.

"And you're right, I saw those documents. I saw the bank accounts and I know what you're planning to do. I can have you in a cold cell by tomorrow with what I know, and trust me honey, there'll be no one to buy you all that makeup and jewelry you can't live without. So what I suggest, is that you go back to town tomorrow and you get those documents fixed. Make it like what you did never happened. You tell John that you can't do this anymore, or you're not happy or whatever lie you could come up with that's as convincing as the one you told him to make him think you _actually_ loved him and you give him back that ring and leave. And I know it'll crush him because I've seen the way he looks at you.." your voice broke slightly before it picked up again, "but I'd rather it crush him and guarantee that you're out of his life than to have you ruin it by staying and going along with that awful plan of yours. It's up to you."

With that, you rushed back in the house and slammed the door shut, not even bothering to look at the expression on Jennifer's face. You clutched your chest, which was heaving rapidly and turned to get back upstairs, but when you did, the sight of Loki made you jump. 

"Oh my- Loki what are doing here?"

"It's not like we came here with a full suitcase, darling. I think you overestimated the number of things we actually have," he joked.

You tried to smile but you were too busy trying to remember how to breathe. Loki looked outside and saw Jennifer downing the rest of her wine and tapping her finger on the glass slowly.

He put a hand on your back and ushered you back upstairs, closing the door behind him.

"So...I may have heard a bit of that."

You buried your face in your hands, "How much exactly."

"...all of it." 

You groaned and he took your hands away, pulling you to sit on the bed and giving you a curious look. You took a deep breath and told him everything. The documents in the office, Jennifer's plan, how much you hated the idea of John losing someone he loves again. 

"Loki pursed his lips, "Ran from trouble only to find it again. It's true, misery does love company."

You gave him an incredulous look only for him to laugh it off, "I'm sorry, but it's sort of comical isn't it? How everything seemed to line up?"

"Ugh, don't tell me you're gonna talk about fate and give me some of that fortune cookie crap." 

"How dare you? I happen to think fortune cookies are a double delight. You get a treat and some wonderful advice to go along with it."

Despite everything, you actually laughed. After a while, he questioned whether you thought Jennifer would actually do the right thing. 

You considered and shrugged your shoulders, "I don't know. I hope she does. But either way, _I'll_ be doing the right thing. And _you_ would be too."

Loki smiled at your words and you rested your head against his shoulder. For the first time in what felt like forever, you actually believed things would work out for the best. You didn't know what tomorrow would hold, but today felt a little brighter. 

* * *

You were pleased to find Jennifer announcing her trip to town the next day, and you spent most of the morning with John, catching up on old memories and learning new ones. He even shared a beer or two with Loki over a basketball game that was on, and the cheers and clinks that erupted from the two of them made you smile. Everything was so light. So calm.

You tried to stretch it out a bit longer before you told John you were leaving and spend as much time with him as possible. But at lunchtime, you heard a car pulling in outside. You were a bit shocked to see Jennifer back so soon from her trip, and you warned her with your eyes. But unlike last night, there was no hint of fear there. She was no longer worried about the threat you spoke the night before, and an uneasy feeling settled in your gut. 

She sauntered over to John, who was still enjoying the game with Loki in the living room, while completely ignoring the glares you gave her. She whispered something in his ear that made him perk up and he downed his beer.

She came over to you and grinned, "Your dad and I are stepping out for a moment dear."

"Dad?" you called.

John patted Loki on the back and apologise for having to go as he put on his jacket, "I'm sorry sweetie. Jen said that the customer from last night is at the store giving my hardworking employees a hard time, he's such a pain in my a*s," he went to grab his keys but Jennifer stopped him.

"Why don't I drive honey? You barely got enough sleep as it is. We can get lunch afterwards."

John furrowed his brows but shrugged, "Alright, then. You guys gonna be ok?"

You nodded and watched as he started to follow Jennifer out the door before she turned to you and grinned, "You know what would be absolutely adorable? If you kissed him goodbye like you used to. Remember John? When you told me she would never let you leave unless you kissed her goodbye?"

John's face was full of confusion, but he wouldn't lie. He missed those moments from when you were a little girl just as much as you did. You both never thought to do that now, but he shrugged his shoulders and you walked forward, letting him kiss your forehead before he waved one last time and walked out the door. 

Jennifer stayed behind for one final smile, and the last thing she said made you even more confused than before.

"Do keep an eye out. Lot of strangers passing through this time of year. You never know who might come knocking."

She shut the door behind her and Loki had the same quizzical look on his face as you did. 

You were about to ask him what he thought when no sooner than the sound of Jennifer's car pulling out of the driveway cut through the silence, did you heard another one pull in. 

Her cryptic words flashed in your mind as a knock sounded at the door. 

Before you could check who it was, or join Loki by the back door where he was motioning for you to come, the door flung open and revealed a face you didn't think you would see so soon.

"Y/n..brother. Boy aren't you two a sight for Thor's eyes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I made a very bad pun in the ending. But I couldn't help myself.


	19. Chapter 19

Thor stalked the living room like a lion tracking his prey. He had the two of you sit on the couch while his other 'friends' surrounded the living room.

"You remember Thanos."

The large bald man from the bar that night waved your way before inspecting the pictures along the shelf.

When you first saw Thor in the doorway, you assumed he was on official police business and a small part of you was excited to see the rest of the group even if they would be cuffing you, only to realise this was a personal call when his 8 criminal friends waltzed in behind him. You didn't know how, but you were certain Jennifer had something to do with it. She didn't spew all that crap before she left for nothing. You knew Thor would brag about how he found you sooner or later, and you were right. 

"I'm sure your thinking how I knew where you two would be holed up. You can thank your stepmom for that,"

"She's not my mother."

"I didn't say you could talk!" You shut your mouth at his warning and bit your lip.

"Tony took so long in sending out those search groups, I organized my own, with Thanos' help of course. You see, when Bucky had his suspicions about you and he started looking into you, he found out about your mom's old boyfriend, John. He was never officially your stepfather though, so you got lucky when you applied for the force didn't you? No ties to anyone with a criminal record. But when Bucky dug a little deeper and saw what he did boy was he convinced you were guilty. John falsified evidence in his day, and you did the same. Like father, like daughter. Who knows what else you would get up to. Bucky wanted to find John maybe have a little chat with him, but he never did quite get there,"

You suspected it all along. Bucky did find out about John and that only spurred him on more. With everything that was against you, if someone hid the fact that their mom's boyfriend was once on the force and he committed a felony on duty, you'd assume that person had other secrets as well and your trust would go down them drain. Thor pulled you out of your thoughts as he continued.

"He did find a registered business in his name though. It took a while for us to track down the agency that administered the license, and they wouldn't give any info. So with the agency's address, we came down here, asked around and the very same day we meet Jennifer who happened to be at John's little fish store this morning. I just knew that you would choose somewhere no one would think to look, and when I remembered that Bucky was investigating your estranged stepdad, I just followed the trail. When I told her that you were wanted for murder, she couldn't lead us to you fast enough. She said she would be glad to see you gone."

"You're not going to touch her." Loki spat, placing his hand in yours protectively. 

"Loki...come on. Save the hero act. You don't need to pretend that you care about her anymore." 

"I do care about her." You believed him when he said it, but Thor's words made you wonder if there was something going on that you didn't know about. Something he was holding over his head.

Thor's laughter boomed throughout the room, and your heart started going crazy.

"If you care about her so much, why don't you tell her what's in that car of yours."

You looked at Loki questioningly, but he kept his eyes on the floor.

"Now you're quiet? Go on, tell her."

Loki glared at Thor, his nostrils flared as he fumed.

"Fine. If you won't, then I will. Y/n...you remember that compilation you had with every bit of evidence you needed to establish how our operation was executed without any trace?"

The binder. The one you thought Thor stole. All this time...

"Well, my brother here used his sticky fingers to snatch that out of your trunk. I bet you blamed me didn't you? I have to say, I had nothing to do with that, but boy was I lucky when he did what he did. Thanks bro. I owe you one."

Thor snapped his fingers and Corvus, a man you recognized from the bar that night, produced a binder, tossing it on the table. Sure enough it was the same one you'd spent so much time putting together. The same one you obsessed over. You pulled your hand out of Loki's and sprang to your feet. Thanos' men moved their hands to their weapons, but he ordered them to relax. There was nothing but pure disgust on your face as you looked at Loki. 

"Tell me it's not true."

He didn't say anything. You wanted to believe that Thor was lying, that he was manipulating you again just like he had so many times before, but the look on Loki's face made your heart break. You fought the tears you felt forming in your eyes, and your voice cracked as you spoke.

"Tell me, it's not true."

Loki didn't dare look at you. He swallowed the lump in his throat and closed his eyes. He thought about how many times he considered telling you the truth. Up until a couple of days ago, he didn't even remember that binder was sitting in his car concealed under part of the trunk. He never found the right time to say it, but if he did, you wouldn't want anything to do with him and then you would be on your own, running from everything and everyone. He didn't want that to happen. He wanted to protect you no matter what, and that was why he took it in the first place.

Thor winced and looked around at his 'friends'.

"I uh...think you two need to have a serious talk. We'll just be outside."

You looked st him and he scoffed, "And no you won't get far if you try to run away. So don't."

He motioned for the group to separate and half of them shuffled out the front door with Thanos while the other half followed Thor to the back patio. 

You folded your arms, teeth digging into your bottom lip. You felt like someone jammed their hand in your chest and squeezed all the blood out of your heart and there was nothing left to keep you upright anymore. So that's what betrayal felt like. 

"Y/n. I only did that to protect you." Loki kept his voice low, and he approached you as if you were a wild animal on the verge of attack.

"You wanted to protect me huh? All that time we spent in that car and you knew it was there and you didn't say a word. Could have fooled me."

"I hid it because I knew it would only make you look more guilty. It wasn't going to help in the slightest.."

"Are you kidding me? Do you really expect me to believe that? You hid it because you wanted me to have no choice but to trust you. So I would have no other way of convincing my team that I was on their side. If you went down, you wanted to make sure I went down with you. You wanted to protect yourself."

"My brother already planned what he was going to do to you. I- I couldn't let all of it happen I had to take it before he did and used it against you. I overhead some of his plans when he talked with Thanos I-"

"Wait a minute. Did you know he was going to be there that night?"

"No of course not I-"

"It all makes sense now. You just got lucky didn't you? I ran with you and you were going to use me as leverage when the time came. You were planning your own getaway from the start."

"Y/...I'm telling you that's not true. "

"Bullsh*t. Did you know he would hurt, Bucky."

He didn't say anything.

"Tell me if you knew."

You weren't going to listen anyway. What was the point?

"Does it matter what I say? You're not going to believe any of it, are you?"

You shook your head, "I'll take that as a yes. All this time I thought all the stuff you did was understandable, forgivable even. Now I see...you're just as bad as he is."

And speak of the devil, Thor walked in just when you said the words Loki dreaded the most. Hearing you say that you thought he was just like Thor was a punch to his gut. 

"Alright. I think that was enough time for a breakup. I have to say, I thought you two made such a cute couple. But who am I kidding. You're not one for love, are you Loki?"

Loki grit his teeth as his brother held on to his shoulder and smiled. You turned away from the both of them and scowled.

"Chin up, sweetheart. He may not want you anymore, but there's another Odinson that does."

You gave Thor a confused look and he snapped his fingers. Thanos pulled your hands behind your back and another man walked forward, tying your wrists and stuffing a gag in your mouth. 

Loki stepped forward but Thor held him back, digging his hand into his shoulder.

"You're unarmed in a room full of men with guns and knives. Do you really want to try something?"

Loki turned back to you, trying to convey all the regret he felt. He knew there was nothing he could do and it killed him. You didn't meet his eyes, you simply gared at the floor and tried to calm yourself down before you punched someone and got yourself killed. You didn't want them to wait for John to get home either, because you were sure they wouldn't leave him unharmed. It was better for you comply and go along with whatever they were planning to do and so you would. 

"Well. Let's get her in the van and head out boys. Loki, I'll see you at the next reunion"

Thanos hoisted you over his shoulder and you turned away from the awful view you had of his a*s. He carried you outside followed by the other men and tossed you in the van after pulling open the door. Loki brushed off Thor's hand and started to run toward the door when he felt something cold against his back.

"What did I tell you? If you try anything, you're just making it certain that you'll never see her again."

Loki stilled and Thor holstered his gun. He patted him in the back and smiled.

"Just take me. She has nothing to do with this. Let her go," Loki pleaded.

"Oh she has everything to do with this. Thanos wants to use her skills. You're officially let go, brother. I put a bag of cash in your car, consider it a severance package. You've worked hard over the years but it's time you took a well deserved vacation."

"Why are you letting me go? You hate me. Just take me instead." It was true. Thor was the only family he had left, but not once did he feel an ounce of brotherly love. He couldn't bare the thought of what they were going to do to you. He was sure that it would be what was done to him, but ten times worse. Thanos and Thor were still somewhat civil. But the rest of their men...they were completely filthy. The worst of the scum that walked the streets at night looking to devour whatever poor soul got caught in their hold. He couldn't let that happen.

"Oh come on, Loki. I don't...hate you. If I did, would I be giving you all that cash? I don't think so. You can go see Mexico or Amsterdam. Get a new girlfriend. I heard the women there would knock your socks off. Go wherever you want. As long as you leave and never come back."

So that was his plan. He just wanted him out of his life for good. Loki would be lying if he said he didn't wish for the same thing. But right now Thor had a hold on you, and he wasn't going away that easily. But he wasn't going to risk your life by angering him. Even if it was the hardest thing to do, he would let Thor have his way for now.

"I hear Japan's beautiful this time of year," he whispered.

"That's the spirit. Well, goodbye brother. Pleasure doing business with you." 

With one final smile, Thor left Loki standing there concerned, heartbroken and alone. 

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this one before, but I've changed it a bit. Hopefully you enjoy. Thank you for reading and comments are always welcome!


End file.
